A New Life
by DarkAngelTricks
Summary: Being taken away from his old life, by our favorite potions proffessor, Harry Potter is brought into the wizarding world. Here he faces his new life, with people he can call family. But how will Dumbledore take this new arrangment? Family, guardians, and the typical Harry Potter mischief. Warning: Some bad language, and spanking/corporal punishment of a minor. Don't Like Don't Read
1. Overwhelmed

Warning: Bit of bad language and spanking. I'm not a very big fan of Dumbledore, so he may be portrayed that way. The biggest different was that Severus never actually took the Dark Mark. He made an agreement with the Voldemort that in order to 'spy' for him, it would be better for him not to take the Mark, but is still trusted by Voldemort and is his potions master. Yes, Severus is on the light side.. if you didn't know that then im terribly sorry, but how could you not? :) If this story doesn't seem like your thing, then don't read, thanks!

A/N: This is my first Fanfiction I've ever written . "_thoughts" __**"flashback" **_"dialogue"

Chapter One: Overwhelmed

Harry Potter laid on the cold, hard floor of the shack he and the Dursleys moved to. All of the letters for Harry put Vernon over the edge. The outcome was moving to a little island in the middle of an angry ocean. Harry looked up at Dudley's watch that was strapped tightly to the boy's chubby arm, hanging off of the dusty green couch. It started to beep as the time struck twelve. Harry looked down at his cake that he drew in the soft layer of dirt that covered the stone floor.

"Happy birthday Harry" Harry whispered to himself, and then blew the 'candles' away.

A great pound sounded through the shack and lightening soon followed. Harry jumped and saw his Uncle and Aunt slowly make their way down the stairs. Vernon was holding a shot gun in his quivering hand while Petunia cowered behind him.

Harry watched as the large wooden door was struck off its hinges into the opposite wall. A tall, skinny looking man entered the shack and looked around. He quickly spotted two boys. One was bolted upright from the loud noise on a couch. The other was lying on the floor beside the larger one with a threadbare blanket wrapped around his shoulders.

The man pointed something that looked like a stick at the door. Harry watched in amazement as the door flew from its broken place across the room, back onto its squeaky hinges. All three Dursleys had horrified expressions on their face.

"Get out, we don't want your kind around here" Vernon shouted angrily trying to aim his gun.

The tall man shook his head and waved his stick at Vernon. Instantly the gun he was previously holding was nothing more than a small tree branch. Harry watched as the tall man stepped out of the shadows into the flickering candle light. Petunia gasped and Harry looked curiously at the man.

The man was tall, and dressed in all black. It appeared that the man was wearing a regular shirt and trousers, but a long flowing robe over them. The man's face was pale with dark brown, almost black piercing eyes and a rather large, crooked nose. Scraggily black hair was draped on the sides of the man's face and he flicked his head ever so slightly moving it out of eyes.

"Severus Snape? What the bloody hell are you doing here?" Petunia gasped, interrupting Harry's curiosity of the man.

"Hello Petunia, wonderful language as always. I am here for Potter" Snape replied in a voice dripping with sarcasm.

Snape looked over at the boys. The one on the couch was a whale. He definitely looked spoiled enough to be the famous Harry Potter, however looked nothing like the boy-who-lived. He turned the other boy, with an immediate impression of Harry's father James. The tormentor of his childhood, the one who took the love of his life away.

James- er Harry had all of the features of his father, except for his brilliant emerald green eyes. Those were unmistakably Lily's. He wore an oversized ripped up shirt and crooked, cracked round glasses. The rest of him was covered in a thin blanket. Snape strode towards the boys as the larger one lept off the couch to his parents. Harry stood up. Severus noted the extremely large and dirty sweatpants the boy was wearing.

"Potter. Gather your things; we will be leaving as soon as possible." Snape said, ending with a glare towards the Dursleys.

Harry looked at the man before him and the Dursleys. He remembered all of the years of abuse he had endured. Ever since he could remember, he had dreamed of the day where he could be taken away from them. He just wasn't too sure he wanted to go with this particular person.

"Well! Hurry Up!" Snape snapped, breaking Harry from his thoughts. Harry rushed off to the corner where his knapsack layed. He picked up the almost empty bag and slung it onto his back. Snape turned towards the door, his robes billowing with him and Harry cautiously followed him.

"Good riddance. It's about time the worthless runt was taken. Nothing but a burden he was" Vernon yelled to them as they neared the door.

Tears pricked in Harry's eyes. The constant reminder that not even his relatives loved him was too much. Snape noticed and took Harry's hand. Harry felt something pull at his bellybutton as they apparated to a large mansion. Harry fell to his knees when his feet hit the ground. He landed in mud, but couldn't stand up, hid head was swirling. Severus helped the small boy up and cast a quick cleaning charm on him to take off the mud.

Harry still stood on shaky legs and struggled to maintain his balance. Severus took pity on the small eleven year old, remembering his first time apparating. Severus slipped his hands around the boy's waist and hoisted him up. Severus was surprised at the weight of the small boy, he was quite light. He cradled the boy as he walked towards his home. Those green emerald eyes have always made all of his anger and meanness dissolve. Only two people in the world has Severus known to have those eyes. One was the small boy drifting to sleep in his arms. The other was the love of his life, and greatest loss, Lily Evans.

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Harry woke up the next morning in a large plush bed. He was wrapped in a thick green quilt, feeling warm and safe. He sat up in bed and rubbed his eyes. The blurry world around him reminded him that he did not have his glasses on.

"Here," a silky voice said as the cold glasses were pushed into Harry's hands. Harry unfolded them and slipped them behind his ears and perched them on the bridge of his nose. Severus Snape, as his aunt had called the man was sitting on the large bed beside Harry.

Harry looked around the room. It was rather large, especially for someone who had lived in a cupboard all of his life. He was lying in a bed covered with a sky blue blanket. The walls were all painted a light cream, a few shades away from white with light brown furniture placed around the room. There was an armoire on the other side of the room, beside the door. On the wall opposite of Harry was a desk, with neatly stacked books, papers, and feathers? There was a large area rug in a dark blue in the middle of the shiny hard wood floors.

"How are you feeling?"

"Uhm, I'm alright."

"Excellent. Would you like some breakfast, it's about seven in the morning." Harry nodded.

"Alright, come along and get dressed, then come downstairs," Severus stated gesturing towards the armoire across the room. Yet again Harry nodded and the man in black left the room.

Harry carefully slide out of bed and fixed the blankets and pillows, out of habit. He quickly made his way to the armoire, thinking it best not to make the kind man wait. When he opened the doors, his eyes nearly popped out of his head. Surly this was not his, all of the clothes were his size, but of much better quality than his old ones ever were.

Harry shrugged and looked around the room for his old clothes. He looked down, thinking he would still have his clothes on, but instead he wore a soft pair of green silk pajamas. Giving up, Harry grabbed a pair of plain jeans and a green shirt. Hastily, he put on the new clothes and folded the pajamas, putting them on the bed.

Harry opened the door of the bedroom, and peered out into a small hallway. The room he was in was the far room to the left, with one door across from him and open. Inside was the bathroom, and next to that was the stairwell to the first floor. To the left down the hall were two more doors.

Harry cautiously walked out into the hall and gently clicked the door closed. He slowly made his way towards the stairs, taking note of the one creaky board directly next to his door.

As he came closer to the stairs, the smell of bacon and eggs perked up his senses. Even though he was use to ignoring these delicious smells, his stomach began to silently beg for food.

As he proceeded down the stairs, he took note of the scene. On the right was a wall with about seven or eight pictures. Harry looked carefully at the pictures, taking in the detail as he continued down the stairs. The left side of the stairs had a partial view of what looked to be a sitting room. There was a cozy fireplace, a pale green couch, and two dark red, almost brown armchairs.

At the bottom of the stairs, it ended in a small hallway intersecting the stairs, another closed door on the right, and continued into a rather large sitting room to the left. Harry turned left and looked around, walking closer to the front door to see a full view of the room. As he took a few steps into the sitting room, Severus stepped out from an opening on Harry's Right.

"Oh, There you are Potter, come along, it's time for breakfast."

Harry cautiously followed the man in black into the other room. He noticed that there was an archway leading from the sitting room into the kitchen. Along the wall opposite from Harry were many things, Harry was accustom to using. From the right corner to the left across from him were, a rather large pantry, a bit of counter-space and a sink, then a black oven with spiral burners on top, then more counter-space topped with various spices, a basket of fruits, and a bread holder. Directly above it was a cupboard for the dishes.

"Come sit," Severus said gesturing to the small rectangular table to Harry's right. Harry complied and sat down in the seat next to the head seat.

"Stella," Severus called, startling Harry, he didn't realize there was another person living with them. Harry looked at the table, there were only two places set, so who was her calling?

A small, strangle looking thing appeared in the room with a small 'pop'. Harry jumped a bit, startled by the arrival. The thing had large brown eyes and long ears, that kind of reminded Harry of a bunny. It wore nothing but rags, actually better looking clothes than what Harry was wearing earlier.

"This is Stella, my house elf," Severus introduced as Stella put plates down in front of Harry and Severus, "Stella, this is Harry, he will be staying with us for a while."

Stella nodded and Harry knew he should be polite, so he held out his hand and said, "Hello Stella, how do you do?"

Stella smiled, "Hello Young Master, welcome home."

Harry put down his hand, which was becoming tired after holding there without being shaken. Stella bowed and 'popped' out. Harry was kind of scared, who were these people? Were they even people at all?

Severus began eating, taking note of Harry's confused and slightly scared look. _"Well, I might as well get this over with."_Severus thought.

"Potter- er- Harry?" The boy snapped his attention to the man.

"I'm sorry for not speaking to you earlier, however it was quite early and it was imperative that you come here." The boy's confusion grew, but memories raced through his head. _"Why was it 'imperative' that he came? Did he know about what happened to me?"_ Harry's thoughts raced as he was pulled into a memory from only a month before.

_**-**__**Harry sat up in bed; almost hitting his head on the low shelves on the wall. He wiped sweat from his forehead and brought his knees close to his chest. The dreams were becoming even worse. They came almost every night, now. Harry had no idea who the man was, or even where he was in his dreams. He picked up his glasses and put them on. The tiny room became much clearer now. He saw his short bed, which he surprisingly still fit on, and three rows of shelves on the wall at the top of his 'bed'. Harry picked up the small cloth that he used as a blanket. In fact, it used to be a blanket, it was the one he was wrapped in when he was sent to this dreadful place. He wrapped himself up in it, only to pull it tighter when he heard loud thuds coming from above him. The Dursleys were awake. Harry heard soft footsteps come down, and the smell of coffee being made. Harry knew his aunt was in the kitchen, preparing the morning paper and coffee for her husband Vernon. **_

_**Loud, heavy footsteps ran down the stairs, then back up halfway. Harry pulled the blanket over his head so the sawdust from the old stairs wouldn't fall into his face. Dudley ran down the stairs, and stopped just behind Harry's door. Harry waited a few more seconds, and then thought it was safe to come out. He opened his door and poked his head out. He was about to step out when the cupboard door hit him hard in the face, throwing him back onto the bed. Harry heard Dudley running ("the sound very similar to a herd of elephants," thought Harry) to the kitchen. Harry opened the door again, only to run into his Uncle Vernon. Vernon grabbed a handful of hair tightly.**_

_**"Watch what you're doing, boy!" he spat. Vernon released Harry's hair and both proceeded to the kitchen. Vernon sat down at the table, and Harry finished making the breakfast his aunt started to make. **_

_**Harry quickly finished making the eggs and piled them on a plate, then set it down on the kitchen table. Vernon glared at him and he and Dudley began eating. Harry's Aunt Petunia, soon joined them at the table, after she poured the drinks. Dudley gobbled down his breakfast, and was soon followed by Vernon. Petunia took her time, slowly eating her eggs and writing in a notebook. Harry sighed at the empty breakfast plates. There would be no breakfast for him. He walked to the front door to retrieve the mail. He picked the small pile up and briefly looked through it before he started for the kitchen again. He stopped on a letter addressed to 'Harry James Potter, number 4 Private Drive, the cupboard under the stairs'. Harry wondered how the senders knew exactly where he lived, but pushed his thoughts away and folder the paper. He would look at it later, when he was alone. He continued to the kitchen, setting the mail down near his uncle.**_

_**Dudley was clearly upset that Harry had not caused any trouble this morning. He liked to see Harry punished, and cry like a little girl. He especially loved the fact that he could tease Harry at the playground, in front of everyone. **_

_**The second Harry walked near him; Dudley spilled his drink on himself, purposely. **_

_**"WHAT WAS THAT FOR FREAK?" Dudley screamed. Vernon stood and glared at Harry. **_

_**"But, I didn't do anything; Dudley's just trying to get me trouble!" Harry said to his uncle. Petunia frantically rushed to Dudley's side to clean him up. Vernon grabbed Harry's ear and dragged him up the stairs. His anger was boiling inside him, and he was going to beat the boy to satisfy himself. Vernon stopped in front of his bedroom, and Harry was sure he lost his right ear. Vernon shoved him inside and kicked in when he fell on the floor.**_

_**"I'm going to teach you your place here, no matter what it takes," Vernon said menacingly as he locked the door and opened the closet. He pulled out a large cane. "Maybe, this time, you'll learn you're place," Vernon said as he approached Harry, who was still on the floor. Vernon raised the cane, and Harry shielded his face with his arms. *SWISH* *SMACK* *SWISH* *SMACK* Went the cane, at least fifteen times. Tears poured from Harry's eyes as he whimpered as the cane hit him. Every time the cane hit him, he withered, on the floor. Vernon finally stopped hitting Harry and kicked him out of the room and down the stairs. Harry hit the wall where the stairs turned. He quickly stood, to the best of his ability, and limped to the cupboard. Vernon chugged down the stairs and slammed into Harry's door. Harry heard locks click and found himself in total darkness.**__**-**_

Harry blinked a few times, wondering who was calling his name. He blinked again, regaining his sight and memory; he was with a strange man named Severus Snape.

Severus stood, _"what just happened?"_ He watched as Harry blinked again, looking as if he recovered. All of a sudden Harry fell off his chair, being caught by Severus and Stella just before he hit the ground. Stella looked worriedly at Severus as he picked Harry up and carried him upstairs.

A/N- Yep, i know, that was a little much for a punishment, but i like to paint the Dursleys as really bad people, it'll all tie together soon. So how do you like my first chapter? I'm about halfway through writing the second, so it will be up asap. Reviews are much appreciated, wow i can't spell :)


	2. Talks of Many Things

Sunlight poured into the room through the parted curtains that covered the nearby bedroom window. The bright light steadily grew across the room as morning approached.

Harry opened his eyes, blinking a few times, then shielded his eyes with his hand from the bright sun. He rolled to his side, facing the center of the room and rubbed his now shaded eyes. Once the morning fogginess was lifted he looked around. His room was exactly as it was when he woke up yesterday. The only difference was that Severus was asleep in the chair next to the bed.

Harry studied the man, then tried to quietly climb out of bed. Once his feet were successfully on the ground, he looked over to the sleeping figure. The man wore the same clothes as yesterday, without the black cloak. His dark blue jeans were slightly wrinkled at the bottom and his green and black striped shirt was wrinkled as well. The man's head was thrown back, sound asleep.

Harry continued to tip toe to the hall, only to realize he had no idea where the bathroom was. He tried to think back to yesterday. He saw a bathroom somewhere. _'Oh, that's right, it's right here' _thought Harry

He opened the door directly across his room and found the bathroom. The entire room was a white and cream theme. The shower, sink, and toilet were all white, while the walls were painted a cream- ish color. There were two towels hanging on the rack, both a pale blue.

Harry quickly relieved himself and washed his hands. He opened the door to leave, only to be blocked by Severus. Severus handed Harry a silver toothbrush, "Go brush your teeth and we will go down stairs and have breakfast, you didn't eat anything yesterday."

Harry nodded and went back into the bathroom and brushed his teeth quickly. When he went back to his room, Severus handed him some clothes and told him to put them on and come downstairs for breakfast. Harry nodded and his stomach grumbled.

Severus left the room and headed downstairs to retrieve a potion and ask Stella to make breakfast. Stella happily made a breakfast of oatmeal and toast with butter and put it all down on the table just as Harry walked into the room.

"Here, take this," Severus said as he handed Harry a potion. He watched in amazement as Harry simply tossed back the vial and swallowed, making a face.

"Yuck, what was that?" Harry asked before taking a large sip from his glass of milk.

* * *

"This story is really stupid, you can do better" Snape said to the distracted author

"Shut up and continue with the script" the writer replied, annoyed with Snape for pointing it out, and with herself for writing a story that seems to be going nowhere.

"mhmm, whatever you say," Snape replied sarcastically. "So , is this going to be one of those stories where I end up adopting Harry, and being the –

"STOPPPPPP! Grr, quit reading ahead in the story"

"I didn't, I just read the summary," Severus replied, seeming quite bored. The author slaps her forehead, possibly hoping to knock some sanity into her head.

"That's it, I'm going crazy, I'm talking to the characters that I'm writing about…" the writer mumbles, noticing Harry glance around, confused on why they were breaking character. The beta reader waved them off, shooing them back to work.

**A/N- Thanks for letting me have my moment of craziness, I don't – well I hope- it won't happen often, but just bear with me. Laugh, cry, hate me, anything you want as a reaction of my insanity, but please keep reading Thanks**

* * *

"That, was a nutrition potion. You didn't eat anything yesterday, since you passed out cold at breakfast." Snape motioned towards his plate and started eating, as a gesture to eat.

Harry looked down at the mushy looking goo in the bowl in front of him. He had absolutely no idea what it was, but it smelled good. It smelled strongly of honey, and Harry noticed a few pieces of cut up banana mixed into it as well. Carefully, Harry scooped up a bit of oatmeal and banana. As he brought it closer to his face, his mouth watered even more, and he finally took his first bite.

The mushy goo Harry thought would be disgusting was actually really good. The different textures confused his tongue, but his taste buds said differently. Eagerly, Harry took another bite of oatmeal.

Snape watched as Harry tasted his oatmeal. He hadn't actually asked Stella to make something that would be easy to stomach, but she always seemed to know what he wanted. Stella had been with Severus since he was a child, well after his father was arrested at least. After the many years of enduring abuse from his father, Snape was alone in the world. His mother had died shortly after he was born. The only place for Severus to go was an orphanage.

Fate, however, seemed to have a different plan for Severus. Instead of being taken to an orphanage, wizards (as his mother described them as, in her journals she left for Severus) took him to a large house, no it was too big to be called just a house. Yet, the actual building was too small to be called a mansion, too. Inside, Severus was greeted by his grandparents, who ended up living with until he received his letter to Hogwarts.

He was never paid much attention by anyone in his family. There were only two people Severus ever remembered that actually cared for him. One was, of course, Stella. She was a house elf at the time when Severus lived at Prince Manner with his grandparents. The other, a beautiful witch, who could see the beauty and love in everything and everyone. She in fact lived down the street from him, in a house slightly smaller than his own. Her family may have been muggle, but they knew of and were involved in their family's affairs in the wizarding world. The girl with fiery red hair, who stole his heart, was none other than Lily Evans. Also, the mother of the young boy, sitting beside Severus.

Harry finished his oatmeal and a piece of plain toast, before noticing that Severus was staring at him. He became uncomfortable and squirmed a bit, waiting to be told what to do. Severus snapped back into the real world, and levitated the dishes into the sink. Harry started to stand to wash them, when Stella popped into the room, and began them herself.

Harry sat back down, and Severus noticed how quickly the boy began to do chores.

"I have had you here for a bit longer than a day now, and I haven't even introduced myself," Severus began, noticing that Harry was looking at him, but not exactly making eye contact. "I am Severus Snape, as you may have heard from you Aunt." Harry nodded. "You may call me sir or Severus, while you live here."

Severus cleared his throat, wondering how to continue this conversation. 'Hi, you're a wizard and are going to a magic school in a few weeks, but until then, you're going to live with me, a complete stranger…' No, definitely not.

"For the remainder of the summer, you will be staying here, with me. I have learned that your relative's home was not the best place for you, and since I am a professor at the school you will soon be attending, and made a promise long ago, you will be living with me until you come of age."

Harry looked panicked when Severus mentioned his relatives, but quickly turned curious when Snape mentioned the school. And so went the rest of the morning, talking Hogwarts, which quickly turned to the wizarding world. By lunch time, Severus was sure he had explained every possible question that could be asked about all two topics.

At lunch, Severus noticed Harry picking at his lunch, which was concerning, considering the boy was already skinny enough. "What's the matter Harry?" Severus crossed his fingers hoping the problem was not was he was thinking of.

"Huh, oh, nothing sir, just, uhh, not hungry." Harry stumbled through his explanation, not once meeting Severus's gaze.

"Most people would be hungry by now. Especially since we ate breakfast at least five hours ago, then you were nonstop talking."

Harry blushed at the 'nonstop talking' part, but racked his brain for an explanation.

"Harry, you don't have to tell me, but it has something to do with your relatives, doesn't it." Harry pondered the question, wondering if he should continue with the lie he had to tell about the Dursleys, or coming clean. Instead, neither happened, the comment about Severus knowing about his life with the Dursleys popped back into his head.

Harry wasn't entirely sure why he was so mad, but he felt as if he exploded with anger, "YOU SAID YOU KNEW! BUT YOU LET IT HAPPEN, YOU LET ME STAY FOR TEN BLOODY YEARS! _SOMETHING_ TO DO WITH MY RELATIVES? IT WAS ALL BECAUSE OF MY SO CALLED FAMILY. I WAS LOCKED IN A FREAKING CUPBOARD UNDER THE STAIRS, PUSHED AROUND BY MY UNCLE AND COUSIN, WHEN YOU PROMISED TO PROTECT ME! I HATE YOU, I FUCKING HATE YOU. I HOPE YOU DROP DEAD!" Harry screamed, before turning to run out of the house, as far away as he could.

He didn't even take his first step when his wrist was grabbed and he felt himself being forced over Severus's knee. Harry stared at the ground in front of him for a moment before a hard *SMACK* stung his bottom. Harry quickly stopped with his reaction of stun, and went to struggling to escape Severus's firm grip and hard hand.

Another *SMACK* sounded through the room, landing on the same spot as the last one. "Stop struggling." Harry continued, but stopped as another *SMACK* hit him. "I was going to explain the rules to you when we went back into the sitting room, but now seems like a good time." Harry huffed in response, earning him another *SMACK.*

"Rule one: No yelling at anyone, especially me. You will treat me and all you elders with respect." *SMACK*

"Two: No cursing." *SMACK* *SMACK* "Since you did not know the rules, I won't wash your mouth out with soap, this time."

Severus maneuvered Harry so he was sitting on his lap. He fixed a stern gaze on him and continued with his list of rules, as Harry quietly sniffled.

"Three: You will not lie to me. Whether it is a small lie, or a big one, I do not care, a lie is a lie. Four: You will do as I say, unless you have a well thought out, reasonable reason, you will do as I say. Five: No walking off when I'm talking to you. It is rude, and childish. Finally, rule six is that you will not skip any meals, you will eat at every meal." Harry nodded, and swiped his eyes that had unshed tears in them. It was not the pain of the spanking, in fact there was barely a sting left, but the shock of the entire scene that had left him teary eyed, and runny nosed.

"You have already experienced one of the punishments for breaking the rules. If you deliberately disobey me, or put your life in danger you will be spanked. For skipping meals, disrespecting someone, disobey me, or walking away when I'm talking, you will earn some corner time. For cursing and lying you will find yourself with a mouth full of soap." Snape paused and saw that Harry was still paying attention before he continued.

"At any time that I feel you need some corner time, or a sound spanking, I will not hesitate to follow through with it; it all depends on how you behave. You will not however be beaten- ever, or spanked for every little bad thing you do. You are still a child and will make mistakes at times. No matter what, I will still love you." Severus stopped, and looked at Harry, noticing his shocked expression. Then he realized what he just said.

Too late to take it back, although somehow, Severus didn't want to take it back. He really did love Harry, ever since he met him as an infant when visiting Lily. What Severus didn't realize was how much he wanted Harry to love him too.

"Now back to what we were previously speaking about, before you had your little temper tantrum," Severus started. Harry shifted slightly, still on Severus' lap, his cheeks gaining a slightly pink colour. Severus' mouth twitched up to a tiny smile for a split second, before schooling his expression once more.

"The Dursleys were not a suitable place for you to stay. I was not aware of the exact actions they would take to you, but I did know that there would be a possibility that they would hold some form of anger towards you. Petunia never did like the wizarding world, and was horribly jealous of you mother.

"Your mother was a wonderful witch, and I was hoping that Petunia would take you in as her own, at least for as a final action for her younger and only sister."

Harry smiled at the mention of his mother, then frowned- in thought. "Sir, did you know my mum and aunt? You talk about them as if you've known them for a while."

Severus put on a sad smile, "Yes, I did know them, as a child I lived down the street in a small muggle town. I met you mother at a nearby park when I saw her perform a bit of accidental magic. We became best friends, and remained that way for most our time here at Hogwarts." Harry said nothing, but his eyes were filled with curiosity and urged Severus to continue with his tale.

"Your mother, in fact, is the reason why you are with me right now and not still remaining with your relatives." The look on Harry's face after that statement was priceless. "When you were born, the war in the wizarding world was becoming worse with every coming day. Lily made me make an unbreakable vow that I would do everything in my power to keep you safe. I would have taken custody over you, but the blood wards at your relative's house were keeping you safe. I would have been named your godfather, however your father and I never really got along very well. He disapproved of me being named godfather, and shortly after you parents died, you god parents went missing."

Severus hoped Harry wouldn't see through his small lie, even though he knew he wouldn't. Today just wasn't the right time to explain that. Severus always hoped he could have Harry, despite the part of him that wanted to hate the boy for being the spitting image of his arrogant father. Those emerald green eyes pushed that feeling down every time he felt it though.

"There is one more thing you should know, Harry. For your entire time at Hogwarts, you will need a place to stay over the breaks and summer. Since you will not be returning the Dursleys under any circumstances, and I already have you now, I have temporary custody of you. However, you want to stay with me, I have already asked the Headmaster for adoption papers. They are all filled out and just require your signature."

Harry thought for a while, loosing himself in thoughts of what he should do. Harry blinked and realized how he was sitting. He was still on Severus' lap, leaning against the dark man's chest with his head resting on his shoulder, the top of his head against Severus' neck. Severus had his arm wrapped around the small boy, holding him on his lap. Severus didn't even realize this action, but when Harry noticed, he saw that Severus really did seem to want him.

So far this man, someone who has not met him since he was an infant, has taken him into his home, cared for him, talked to him, set up rules for Harry to follow and what to expect if he broke them, and even some fair discipline (which Harry hated to admit). Harry wanted to stay with Severus, but was curious to one thing.

"What will happen to me if I don't agree to stay?"

Severus' heart sank. The boy doesn't want to stay with him. "Well, you would be put in the care of the ministry of magic until someone adopts you, which would probably be quite fast considering you are the wonderful boy who lived," Severus sneered at Harry, the part of him that hated Harry for his appearance was taking over. If the boy doesn't want him, then there would be no reason to be nice.

Now it was Harry's heart's turn to sink. Why Severus being so mean all of a sudden? "Oh, I was just curious; I know I'm just a burden. I don't want to be a burden, I think it might just be better for everyone if I went back to my relative's house," Harry said sadly. Severus didn't want him, but that's okay, no one ever liked Harry, he was always a freak. Who could love or even like a freak like him?

Harry's words hit Severus with full force. The boy was just curious. Severus landed a hard *SMACK* on Harry's bottom. Harry yelped and put his hand back to rub the offended area.

"You are _not _a burden; I don't want to hear you ever say that again. And you will never be returning to your relative's house," Severus said sternly.

Harry looked up into Severus' eyes. The man looked hurt by Harry's words about himself. "I'm sorry, I never meant to upset you, I wanted to stay with you, but was just wondering what the other option would have been. I still would have picked you, even if I would be placed with the nicest family in the world."

Severus mentally kicked himself, he was an idiot. A fool who jumped too quickly at conclusions. Severus wrapped his arms around Harry, pulling him closer for a hug. "I'm sorry, I jumped to the conclusion that since you asked that question, you didn't want to stay. Are you sure you want to stay? It would mean that you would be like my son."

Harry's face brightened, "You would be my dad?" This seemed too good to be true for Harry. There was finally someone who wanted him.

Severus smiled, a rare sight that very few people have ever witnessed. "You want me to be your dad, then yes."

"Yes! Dad! I have a Dad now!" Harry said enthusiastically, grinning from ear to ear.

"Wait, wait, wait. We still have to finish some paper work, to make it official. Accio Adoption Papers."

The adoption papers soared into the room and into Severus' hands. Severus put them down and turned to the last page, where both of them would need to sign. He thought about conjuring a quill, but thought better and opted for a ball point pen. Both signed and the stack of papers glowed a silvery blue. The colour grew quite strong, before fading away. Severus smiled ever so slightly and sent the papers to Albus Dumbledore, headmaster of Hogwarts, with a form of apparition.

"Now it's official. Why don't we go play chess for a little while and we'll go out for dinner. We could go to Diagon Alley, the place I was telling you about earlier, for dinner if you want." Harry practically started bouncing on Severus' lap.

"Really? We can go to Diagon Alley today?"

"Yes, I was going to wait until tomorrow, but we will leave in about two hours. We can go buy your school supplies while we are there, and you can have a head start on your upcoming school year. However, for now, why don't we have a tour of the house, then play chess?"

"Okay, there's just one problem, I don't know how to play chess." Severus lifted Harry off his lap and led him into the sitting room.

First, the pair went upstairs. Harry already knew the rooms to the left of the stairs, which were his room and the bathroom directly across. On the right side, Severus showed Harry the guest bedroom and his bedroom, which he warned Harry not to go into without his permission.

Back downstairs, Severus showed Harry that the door at the very bottom of the stairs led to his potions lab- another place Harry would not be allowed without Severus, ever. Turning, Harry faced the sitting room, there were two arches, one leading to the kitchen, the other leading to somewhere Harry couldn't identify from his current point of view.

Severus led him through the kitchen, and through another arch (on the left) which led to a dining room. Severus informed Harry that they would only here on special occasions or if they had company over. The dining room was simple. It had a medium sized table, enough to fit at least ten people. There was an award case on one wall that held quite a few old looking books, pictures, and medals. There was a skinny table pushed up against the wall near Harry, which he assumed was for any over flow of food to go.

Yet another arch to the left side of the room led to the room that also had an arch leading to the sitting room. This room was what Harry guessed to be an entertainment room. It was cozy and had couches and chairs and several bookshelves. It was similar to the sitting room, but not as formal. A fireplace on the wall that connected the sitting room and this room led straight through to the sitting room, so if you ben over or kneel down, you can see into the next room.

There was closed dark brown double doors, which Severus opened and led Harry into an office. Here were yet again more bookshelves, with one desk facing the center of the room, directly across from the doors. There was a small couch in front of another fireplace that was bigger than the others; it was quite a bit taller than Harry, himself. Across from the couch was a comfortable looking chair. In the closest right corner was another desk, slightly smaller than Severus'. This one was identified as Harrys, and it faced the door, with a small bookshelf just for Harry nearby, giving him his own little corner. In the center of the room, on the hard wood floors was a brownish red with a swirling pattern that was impossible to follow.

Now that the tour was over, Severus led Harry back to the entertainment room, which had French doors leading out to the back yard and the garden, which Severus would not let Harry go into, since he would have plenty of time to explore it later.

Back in the room, Severus pulled out a chessboard from one the book shelves lining the wall and began to set it up. For the next hour and a half, Severus attempted to teach Harry the game. They continued to play until Severus said it was time to leave for Diagon Alley.

Harry jumped up and raced up the stairs to grab his coat from the back of his door, where all his jackets hung (Severus had ordered plenty of clothes for Harry when he agreed to take him in to introduce him to the wizarding world before he entered Hogwarts). Harry raced down the stairs, only to be swatted on his bottom once and told to slow down and calm down.

Severus led harry to the tall fireplace in the office, so that they could floo to the Leaky Cauldron in Diagon Alley. Harry looked at Severus in curiosity when Severus picked up the bag of floo powder off of the mantle and smirked.

A/N: How was chapter two? Reviews would be terrific… ahh my hands like won't type right because I've been typing for so long trying to write quite a bit for this chapter. Next chapter tells about Harry's first time in Diagon Alley.


	3. Diagon Alley

A/N- Thanks for all the reviews, hopefully this chapter clears some stuff up. One last thing, Harry knew about Diagon Alley when Severus was talking to him about the wizarding world after breakfast. I did not write the actual conversation, there was just a small paragraph with about three sentences that said "their conversation after breakfast started out talking about Hogwarts, but quickly turned to the wizarding world. " Sorry for the confusion, the rest will be explained –hopefully- in this chapter.

Previously:

Severus led Harry to the tall fireplace in the office, so that they could floo to the Leaky Cauldron in Diagon Alley. Harry looked at Severus in curiosity when he picked up the bag of floo powder off of the mantle and smirked.

"This is floo powder; it is one of the fastest ways to reach Diagon Alley. All you have to do is step into the fireplace, clearly say the name of your destination and throw the powder down."

Harry looked at the fireplace, "Can't we just walk, or apper-appara? What was that word again?"

"Apparition. No, since you are underage, we would have to use side apparition, which takes a great deal of power on my part. I am a strong wizard, but not strong enough to constantly use it with someone. Floo is easier if you have more than one person anyway," Severus explained, trying not to become frustrated with constantly explaining things.

"Oh, alright," replied Harry, still looking a bit nervous about traveling by fireplace. Then again, what person new to the wizarding world wouldn't be nervous?

Severus stepped in and turned to face Harry. Harry took a tentative step towards him, before Severus snatched his hand and pulled him close, losing his patience with the small boy. Quickly, Severus grabbed a handful of Floo powder and held Harry close; not wanting him to fall when they reach their destination.

He threw down the powder and said loudly, "The Leaky Cauldron."

Bright green flames engulfed the pair and Harry's eyes grew quite wide, before snapping tightly closed. The sensation he felt wasn't as if he was burning, however, but a warm feeling that kind of tingled.

The feeling finally stopped and Severus tried to take a step forward to move out of the fireplace, only to find the small boy holding on to him for dear life. He stumbled with his first step, before swooping down to pick up Harry. The boy was quite light, too light for his age.

Severus quickly walked to the nearest empty table and sat down. "Calm down child, you're fine." Severus tried to say as gently as possible.

Harry finally let go of his death grip on Severus and looked around. He was on Severus' lap, which should bother him, shouldn't it? Seeing the people around him either smile and giggle or look confused or disgusted made Harry turn his head back to Severus.

For an unknown reason to the both of them, Harry felt safe with Severus, as if he'd known him for his entire life.

"Come child, let's look around town for a bit, then come back when it's a little less crowded," Severus said sneering at the people around him. Was it so bad that he, Severus Snape, had the boy-who-lived with him? Sure, at one point in his life he almost took the dark mark and became a death eater. Almost. He was about to, but Lily Evans- er Potter, became pregnant. With James always at work as an Aurora, Lily wanted Severus' help to raise her soon-to-be-born child. Severus had agreed, but couldn't remember anything after that to this day.

He shrugged his thoughts off, and lifted Harry off his lap, taking his hand and leading him out the door. Harry gladly took the hand and followed, only to stop dead in his tracks outside the door and gasp.

The street wasn't anything too fantastic, but to Harry it was a dream come true. There were shops upon shops lining the streets. Each shop that had a steady flow of people coming in and out had their doors propped open. Old wooden signs hung on metal poles on each shop, with brightly colored letterings telling what the name of the store was. Crowds of people filled the street, most dressed as Severus, in strange dress type things- no wait robes; yes that's what Severus called them.

* * *

They walked to the robe store where they met the Malfoys. Harry and Draco became friends and walked off happily ever after.

"What the bloody hell kind of ending to a chapter was that? You barely wrote a measly thousand words yet!" Severus said, appalled at the writers sudden laziness in writing.

"Well maybe YOU should try writing a story, besides I am just borrowing you, I could just kill you. And out of nowhere, the dark grey storm clouds covered the once fading blue sky. Rain poured from the sky and Severus grabbed Harry's trying to usher him out the rain. The streets were now clear, due to the rain storm, and thunder cracked loudly, causing Harry to jump and speed up his pace. Just as they came close to a nearby awning, Harry was released from Severus' hand. Harry made it just a bit soaked to the awning, as Severus slowed his pace a bit. Keeping up with the energetic eleven year old was not something he wanted to do in the rain, besides he could always use a drying spell. All of a sudden the sky lit up with lightning, followed by loud cracks of thunder. As Severus came closer to the metal pole of sign above him, lightning struck it, breaking the wood and nearby items to pieces, most flying at Severus. Harry rushed over to Severus' still body-"

"STOP! ARE YOU TRYING TO SCARE AWAY THE READERS?" Severus screamed.

"No, if you don't want to scare them away, then STOP interrupting me!"

"Sorry readers, for our author's terrible behavior. I'm not sure; however, I can keep her from doing something terrible. I do apologize in advanced for any future out bursts such as this." Severus said silkily to the readers.

The author's face turned red in embarrassment of what Severus just said, "Oh shut it, and let's get back to the story."

"As you wish." Severus grinned, basking in his success on putting the author back on task. Both walked back to their places, Severus' quietly and graceful, the author's a loud stomp filled with angry mutterings about her favorite character Severus. Yet again Harry stood there looking confused with the world surrounding him.

* * *

"Come along Harry, we are going to make some stops before going to dinner." This wasn't too big of a deal considering it was only three thirty, and they had quite a bit of time until dinner.

Their first stop was Gringotts; it was a huge building, which was carefully sculpted with many pointed towers at the top, all leading to the elegant pointed tip. The entire building was made a snowy white stone that made the building stand out even more from the old wooden buildings that the shops were hosted in.

Carefully, Severus and Harry made their way through the thick crowds of people towards the bank. Once there, Harry had a much better view of Gringotts. They walked up a white set of stairs to the bronzed door. As they approached, Harry saw two large gargoyles, about twice the size of Harry, turn on their stands to face the doors. Harry backed away, frightened of the statues, when the heavy doors opened suddenly.

Severus led the way inside the quite room, the only sounds being the scraping of quills on parchment. As Harry and Severus walked past the rows of desks, Harry was shocked to see their occupants were not humans. A few... things glanced up with creepy faces that made Harry walk a bit faster. As they reached the desk at the very end of the hall, Severus stopped.

The pair waited for a minute or two before the creature stopped writing and looked up, "Yes?"

"I would like to make a withdrawal from my vault," Severus said, producing a silver key from a pocket of his long cloak.

The creature nodded and led them behind the desks to another large door. Behind the door were several carts. The three boarded a unoccupied cart. The creature pulled a bar, and took hold of a steering wheel. The cart took off down the rickety tracks.

Harry, Severus and the thing went speeding over hills and hills of tracks. Harry felt as if he was going to be thrown off the cart, despite the strong sticking charm Severus put on them. The ride was fairly quick, but when the cart stopped, Harry's stomach felt as if it was swirling.

Harry stayed in his seat for a bit longer as the creature and Severus stepped out and towards a vault, and Severus handed his key over as the creature put the key in and turned it.

Harry stepped out of the cart just as the heavy vault door opened. Inside were mountains and mountains of coins! Each pile was a different type of coin. Harry, confused at the different type of money, was curiously examining a pile when suddenly Severus walked up holding one of each coin.

He held the coins in the palm of his hand and pointed to each one as he explained them. The first one he pointed to was gold, "This one is a Galleon, which is equal to seventeen sickles," pointing to a silver piece, "and twenty-nine knuts to a sickle," he pointed to a bronze piece. Harry nodded and held each piece as Severus handed them to him.

Harry handed the coins back to Severus. He put them back in the pouch he was putting all his money in. Both followed the creature out and took the speedy and bumpy ride back above ground. As soon as the pair was out of the building and walking down the stairs hand in hand, Harry asked the question that was bugging him since they arrived but thought it would be rude to ask.

"What were those creatures?"

"Those, Harry, were Goblins. They are ruthless creatures, perfect for guarding the valuable treasures in the vaults beneath the bank. Come along, we are going to go to the robe shop to fit you for your school robes."

"Okay, sir," Harry replied and followed Severus down the street to Madam Malkin's robe shop.

As they entered the small looking shop, Harry was shocked to find that it was surprisingly large inside. They were greeted by a couple and a young boy, who looked to be Harry's age. The boy was standing on a stool being measured for his robes. Pieces of fabric were pinned onto him and the elderly lady was crouched beside him pinning the robes. The boy was squirming and yelling at the lady for sticking him with pins, who was seemingly doing it on purpose to the obnoxious sounding boy. The couple standing by the front looked as life they had given up on trying to control the boy.

"Draco, cease this horrible behavior at once," Severus said sternly. The couple and Draco were startled and looked over at the incoming pair. Draco, who knew at once who the voice belonged to, turned slightly red in embarrassment and remained quiet as Madam Malkin resumed her work.

The couple stood, "Hello Severus, what a pleasant surprise seeing you here," the man said.

"Yes, and who is this?" the woman said as she crouched down next to Harry, who may be as old as their son, but looked at least two years younger.

Severus shook the man's outstretched hand, "Hello Lucius, Narcissa. This is Harry, Harry Potter. It has already been made official that he is my son."

Narcissa smiled widely, then to Harry, "Hello, I'm Narcissa, but you can just call me Aunt Cissy." Harry gave a shy smile and shook her hand. Harry backed a bit closer to Severus as the boy on the stool finished up and started to walk over.

* * *

Scene That I didn't think would fit, but my friends thought it would be funny.. so this is another segment called INSANITY::

The man held out his hand, "I'm Lucius Malfoy, but please, call me Uncle Fuckoff."

Severus gave Lucius a strange look, then turned to Harry, "If I ever catch you saying that, you'll be tasting soap."

Then he looked back over to the couple as Narcissa glared at Lucius and pinched his arm, "I'm just kidding. Merlin, you people take everything so seriously!"

A/N- My Friend wanted that in there.. so.. Here's the Real rest of the chapter:

* * *

The man held out his hand, "I'm Lucius Malfoy, but please, call me Uncle Lucius." The man had a firm grip during the handshake and Harry was grateful when he finally let go. The man put his other hand on the boy, who was now standing next to him. "This is my son Draco."

"Hello, I'm Harry," Harry said timidly.

Draco's jaw dropped a bit before saying, "You're Harry Potter aren't you?" Harry nodded a bit, and the adults cut them off before they could finish the conversation, that Harry did not know anything about, yet.

"Terribly sorry Lucius, but we still have quite a bit of shopping left to do; perhaps we could meet for dinner at the Leaky Cauldron at hmm... say six o'clock?" Severus said hurridly as he ushered Harry over to the stool to be fitted for robes.

"Alright Severus, but could we go somewhere, perhaps, less, hmm what's the word...ahh yes, scruffy looking?" Lucius replied with a nod towards Draco.

"Nonsense Lucius, the Leaky Cauldron is a terrific place! We will see you there, Severus," Narcissa scolded Lucius, "Goodbye Harry!"

Severus nodded and Harry waved goodbye as the trio departed from the store. It was twenty long minutes filled with Madam Malkin's incessant mutterings about how skinny Harry was, with quite a few glares thrown at Severus. After the first fifteen minutes, Harry stood still, but for the last five, he couldn't stand it anymore and started fidgeting. Severus gave Harry a pointed look as Madam Malkin finished her work.

Severus led the way out of the shop with a promise from Madam Malkin that she would owl the shipment to him in two days. The next shop Harry was led to was one that looked like all the other with a sign that read, "Flourish and Blotts". Under the large slightly swirled writing was, "Book Store" printed. The pair entered and Harry was taken with awe at the amount of books in the small shop.

The store was nothing like the library at his old school. This one had shelves that seemed never ending on the walls, and shelves slightly taller than Severus in the middle. Severus led Harry to a section labeled "Hogwarts Textbooks" and selected a few before telling Harry to go look around while he picked up some potions books.

Harry nodded, and looked around the store for a bit before meeting Severus at the Checkout counter. Severus paid for the books and led Harry out. Harry felt a bit guilty for Severus buying all these things for him, but knew there was no way to pay him back or pay for anything himself. _"Perhaps,"_ he thought, _"I could work off my debt, like in those movies Dudley use to watch on the Telly." _

Harry stopped paying attention to what Severus was doing now, just to what was in each store. The next one they had walked into was called Potage's Cauldron shop, where there were cauldrons of as many sizes as one could think of. The next was Wiseacre's Wizarding Equipment, where there were many assortments of things, mostly being phials and star charts.

The final stop was a curious place called Ollivanders. The store was on the part of Diagon Alley that had quite a bit less people than the other side. When they entered the store Severus said to Harry, "Stay here and behave. I'll be right back."

Harry nodded but turned to ask where he was going, when Severus was nowhere to be seen. Harry shrugged, feeling a bit more nervous without Severus, but approached the desk. He was about to ring the little bell on the counter when a man on a ladder came sliding over.

"I was wondering when I would see you here, Mr. Potter. I am Mr. Ollivander, shop owner of this wand shop," the man said as he searched for a particular box and carried it over to Harry. He took it out of the box and gave it to Harry, who just stood there holding it.

"Well, give it a wave!" Harry jumped and turned to face one of the shelves and flicked the wand. A shelf blew up, scattering boxes. "No, not that one."

Mr. Olivander went back to a shelf and took another wand, handing it to Harry. This time, another shelf blew up and Harry carefully placed the wand back on the counter.

"hmm, I wonder," the man muttered, taking a black box out from the other side of the room. He handed it to Harry.

Harry felt a rush of power, or magic, or something strong was over him. It gave him a feeling of comfort and power, holding his wand. "Curious."

At Harry's confused look at the insane looking man, he continued, "It is curious to why this wand chose you, when its brother gave you that scar." Harry unconsciously traced the lightning bolt shaped scar on his forehead and said nothing.

Harry had finally broke his trance to ask further about it, when the bell at the top of the door rang and the two turned to find Severus coming in, carrying a cage with a gorgeous snow white owl inside.

Severus gave the cage to Harry, "Happy Birthday Harry." Harry smiled and put his hand through the bars to pet the bird. It's feathers were like silk and the bird rubbed up against his hand. "Come along, it is almost time to meet the Malfoys for dinner."

"Okay, and Thank you sir, she's beautiful," Harry said with a grin on his face. Severus nodded and gave the smallest of smiles before leading Harry out.

Mr. Ollivander smiled as he watched the pair leave. The two would face many hardships and triumphs; hopefully they would gain some allies too. If only the world wouldn't be so cruel, their futures are better now, though, now that they have each other.

Severus and Harry had spent quite a bit of time shopping, and Harry's stomach had just caught up with time. His stomach rumbled loudly, but was muffled by the loud crowds in the street. Severus heard, however, and led them a bit faster to The Leaky Cauldron.

The Malfoys were already there, each with a glass of butterbeer in front of them. Lucius stood as the two walked in and the three took a seat simultaneously. Draco, who was sitting next to Harry, immediately, started a conversation with Harry right after the adults said their hellos.

Harry was only paying half attention to Draco's unending talking, to pay attention to his sandwich that had just arrived. Severus and Lucius had ordered their children bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwiches, which Harry thought was wonderful. Draco seemed to of had that kind of food before, and paid little attention to it as he took a bite, chewed a few times, swallowed and started talking again. When both sandwiches were finished, Harry saw that the adults were still eating and decided to get a bit more involved in Draco's conversation.

This conversation, which Harry thought started with Draco's summer activities, turned to a sport called Quidditch. As Harry started to listen a bit better to Draco's words, he found Quidditch to sound very interesting and fun, with a dangerous edge to it.

All too soon though, the adults finished their food, and Lucius departed for work at the ministry.

Severus thought an ice cream for dessert would be a pleasant treat for both boys, and invited Narcissa and Draco to accompany them to Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour, which was just a little ways down the road.

At the ice cream shop, both boys stood at the counter trying to decide which of the hundreds of flavors they should pick. There were literally hundreds of every imaginable flavor and flavor combination here. Draco finally settled on a chocolate ice cream with fudge swirls, and a bit of strawberry ice cream on top. Harry decided to follow his lead and ordered the same thing.

Harry had never had ice cream when he lived with the Dursleys. He did, however, imagine what it would taste like. Dudley loved ice cream, and had it quite often, most of the time, teasing Harry with it.

When Harry had his first bite, which was a little bit of everything, he thought it was amazing. The next few bites he tried each flavor individually. His favorite out of the two was the chocolate. While Harry savored his ice cream with each bite, Draco dug in, happy that he was able to have ice cream.

Ice cream was a rare treat in the Malfoy family, as they preferred to eat healthily, which didn't include sugary ice cream. In fact, the only treat Draco did eat often was chocolate, but only because it held the good memories to a person and helped put away bad feelings.

Eventually, both boys were finished, and the adults had finished their peanut butter ice cream and vanilla ice cream quite a while ago. When Severus walked over to tell the boys it was time to leave, they found a girl, who looked to be about their age with them. The girl was actually quite pretty, despite her strange looking clothes, which seemed a bit muggle. She had long blonde hair, which was on the border to being a shimmering white. She had pale skin and a sing- song voice.

"Hello Mrs. Malfoy, I'm Luna Lovegood," the girl said to Narcissa as they approached, "and Hello Professor Snape." Both adult s shook the girl's hand as a man, who seemed to be her father walked up.

"Hello mother, Luna was just telling us about how they invented all of these ice cream flavors with the help of several other creatures!" Draco said enthusiastically.

"Wonderful Draco, I'm terribly sorry Luna, but it is getting late, and we must be going home."

"That's alright Mrs. Malfoy. Bye Harry, bye Draco, see you in September!" Luna said as she skipped off out of the shop with her father trailing behind.

"Alright," Severus said, "Come along Harry, its late and almost time to get ready for bed." Harry blushed a bit with those final words, but saw that Draco did too when his mother told him the same thing.

Both families made their way to the floo and took off towards their abodes. Severus ushered Harry up the stairs, it was seven thirty and time for Harry to calm down a bit before bed.

As Harry put on the pajamas Severus handed to him, a thought crossed his mind. This same thought bugged his mind as they made their way downstairs to the sitting room to curl up and read for a bit.

This thought that became even stronger as Harry followed Severus down the stairs and curled up next to him on the couch was, _"Why do I trust this man so much?"_

A/N- Well, that's chapter three. Chapter four will hopefully be up soon. Oh and special thanks to my best friend Liv for agreeing to be the beta, and to KarelaTheRedHawk for giving me a good idea on how the rest of the story will go. :)


	4. Potions, Potions

Harry awoke in the same, now familiar place. Sunlight was only partially blocked by the curtains that were not pulled closed all the way. Harry sat up and leaned against his headboard. He rubbed his eyes and smacked his hand lightly on the bedside table, looking for his glasses. When he finally found them and put them on, the room came into crystal clear focus- well almost. He took them back off and rubbed the lenses on his night shirt, trying to clean off the smudges. When he finally put them back on, the room looked much better.

Harry swung his legs out from under the blankets and put his feet on the plush rug that was next to his bed. He stretched his arms over his head, and stood up. Slowly, as he was still a bit sleepy, he made his way across the hall into the bathroom.

Two minutes later, Harry emerged from the bathroom, yawning. He tried splashing cold water on his face, but he still wasn't fully awake. He ran his hand through his wild hair, causing it to look even messier, if that was even possible, and made his way down the stairs.

Harry approached the kitchen threshold and peered in, Severus was standing at the counter pouring milk into a glass and a mug of coffee. Then Severus did something curious; he pulled a small vial out of his pocket and poured it in the glass of milk. He put the vial down on the counter, and put both cups down at the table, the milk and mystery substance mixture, at Harry's place. Harry quietly ran to hide in the corner, behind a bookshelf, as Severus came out of the kitchen and went up the stairs.

Severus didn't see or hear Harry come down, as Harry learned from a small age to do his best to be neither seen nor heard. The very second Severus was up the stairs and out of sight, presumably to wake up Harry, he slipped into the kitchen. The lone vial sat, still on the counter, and Harry went directly over to it. He picked it up, praying that there was a label on it. Sure enough there was a white label staring up at him.

The label read 'Calming Draught' in the spidery writing Harry often saw Severus write in_. "Now, why would he put this in my milk?"_ Harry thought. Harry quickly rushed to the table as he heard the creaky floorboard by his room squeak.

He took his seat, mere seconds before Severus rushed into the room. Severus sat down by Harry, and Stella popped into the room and set down their plates of food. Today, Harry had a few strips of bacon and sunny-side-up eggs. Harry picked up a piece of bacon and nibbled on it when Severus began to eat his eggs. Severus was about to ask how Harry managed to sneak past him into the kitchen this morning, when Harry beat him to the questioning.

"Sir," Harry began. _"Hmm, what ever happened to 'I have a dad!'?"_ Severus thought.

"Your potions, I know you told me a bit about the class, and that you are the teacher, but do you make all of your own potions?" Harry asked, trying to be subtle about getting to his real question.

Severus gave him a funny look, "Strange question for so early in the morning." Harry shrugged, "but yes I do make all of my own potions. I do not trust using most potions I buy."

Harry nodded, "So what kind of potions do you make most often?"

Severus raised his eyebrow at the questioning and remembered the potion vial he left on the counter. _"Damn, he knows, that why he's asking these questions out of the blue,"_ Severus thought. "I make many different potions, I test potions others invented, and brew many different types of healing potions for St. Mungos."

Harry nodded again, "Do you ever make calming draughts?"

"_Damn, Damn, Damn, he does know. How could I be so stupid to leave it out on the counter?" _Severus cursed inwardly.

"Yes, I do."

"What do they do?" Harry asked to make his 'curiosity' a bit more believable, he knew, in fact, exactly what the draught did. The night before, Harry had stayed up late and read the majority of his potions textbook, only putting it down when Severus came to check on him.

Harry was just about finished with the bacon and started to eat the eggs, stabbing the yolk with his fork as he waited for Severus' response.

"Well, a calming draught is a potion used to calm a person down after they had suffered a shock, trauma, or emotional outburst," Severus said, and confident that he could lie if the boy accused him of anything.

"So why did you put it in my milk? Was it because I fainted the other day? How many times have you given it to me? And Why?" Harry spewed his questions out, and realized he wasn't really hungry anymore.

"First of all, finish eating. Second of all, I did not put a calming draught in you milk, why would you think that?" Severus asked smoothly.

Harry glared and took another bite of egg, "I saw you put something in my milk this morning and when you went upstairs, I read the label."

"Hmm, so you hid from me, and caused me to worry about you not being upstairs, instead of just asking?" This was true; Severus had worried about the boy, but didn't really show it. He figured that the boy snuck downstairs at one point when he wasn't looking. Harry had been quite a quiet guest since he arrived here, so it wasn't a horrible assumption.

Harry blushed a bit, he hadn't thought of simply asking. However he was completely sure Severus put the potion in his milk. "So, if you didn't put the potion in my milk, where did you pour it?"

"_A very Slytherin tactic for a probable Gryffindor."_ "I put it in my coffee."

"Really? Why would you need a calming draught?" Harry shot right back.

"Adjust your attitude Mr. Potter. If you must know, I have been quite stressed these past few days. I have taken you in, on top of my other duties."

Harry raised an eyebrow, "What other duties? I haven't seen you do anything besides stay with me since I arrived here!"

Severus was momentarily lost for words, how was he out maneuvered by an eleven year old? He was about to tell Harry that there was always the night time, but for the second time this morning, Harry beat him to it.

"A calming draught also dulls the senses to help relax the patient. This will affect not only your five senses, but also your emotions. I read ahead in my potions textbook last night before I went to sleep. Just yesterday, a thought strange thought crossed my mind. You're a complete stranger, yet I trust you so much. So much so, that I signed adoption papers," Harry said, becoming louder as he spoke.

"You will cease this behavior at once," Severus said in the same deadly tone he used on Draco yesterday. "Yes, I gave you a calming draught because I did not want a repeat of your fainting. You are also only partially correct on the calming draught. True, it affects your senses and some emotions. It, however, had nothing to do with you trusting me or signing the adoption papers. You did both on your own free will."

"Oh. Well. You could have at least told me." Harry was at a loss for words, yeah he kind of did over react, and come to the wrong conclusion, but still, Severus COULD have told him.

"Yes, I could have told you, but how do you think you would have reacted? Do you think you would have continued to take them?" Severus questioned.

Harry didn't say anything back; instead he just pushed around his eggs and stared at his plate. _"I would have been mad, and I probably wouldn't have taken the potion. Hmph, and I really thought I outsmarted him for a minute," _Harry thought sullenly.

"Exactly. Are you finished eating?" Harry nodded and Severus stood up and poured Harry milk down the sink. Then he rinsed it out and filled it with fresh milk. "Drink," he said as he put the glass down in front of Harry. Harry sulked a bit before giving in, and gratefully drank the milk. This time he didn't feel the light tingly feeling he usually felt when he drank milk here, though he never actually noticed the feeling until now. The glass of milk was quickly drained and Harry put in on the table, wiping his milk mustache on the back of his hand.

Severus gave Harry a look of distaste and handed the boy a napkin. Harry accepted it, with a slight blush and continued to eat a few more strips of bacon.

"The Malfoys will be visiting us for the day, in about a half an hour. Go upstairs and take a shower, they should be here by the time you are finished dressing." Harry stood and rushed up the stairs, Draco was visiting!

Twenty five minutes later, Harry came down the stairs, in khaki shorts and a light blue and white striped shirt. Severus nodded at his choice of attire and sat down in the comfy looking armchair in the sitting room. His hair was still slightly wet, and dripped slowly on his shoulders. Harry sat on the couch in the sitting room watching the clock. Harry barely noticed, around the steady tick of the clock, that Severus stood and left the room, going up the stairs and disappeared for a few minutes.

Harry continued to watch the clock, until someone stepped behind him and a soft fabric was tossed over his head. He was startled, and flicked the fabric out of his face, realizing it was a towel, and jumped off the couch, to face the person behind him. His heartbeat slowed a bit when he found the person to only be Severus. Severus stood there smirking, until Harry jumped up, almost hitting his knee on the table in front of the couch. Harry glared at him and Severus smirked again.

"Sit down you silly boy, nothing that would hurt you can get through the wards here," Severus said with a bit of concern, hidden by his playful teasing. Harry glared again, and sat on the couch, watching the clock again. Severus took the towel that was now on the boy's neck and put in over Harry's head again. The boy grumbled, but Severus ignored it and began to dry the messy hair. When the wild dark brown locks were finally dry, Severus took out a comb. He tried, in vain attempt to tame Harry's hair. For a while, Severus thought he finally tamed it, but only for a few seconds, before bits started to pop up again.

Severus finally resorted to a few various hair charms, none of which held down the boy's hair for more than a few seconds at a time. He sighed and banished the towel to the hamper in the bathroom, and the comb to the bathroom closet. The leather arm chair across the room looked rather inviting to Severus and he was about to cross the room to sit, when the fireplace roared green.

When the small hand on the clock finally hit the nine, the fireplace flared brightly with green flames and Narcissa Malfoy gracefully stepped out. The second flare brought Draco, who looked around, smiled at Harry, and stood next to his mother. Lucius Malfoy stepped out last and Severus took a step towards the man.

"Good evening Severus," Lucius said as he shook the younger wizard's hand. Severus nodded in return and shooed the boys into the other room to play games. Narcissa and Lucius sat down together on the couch, and Severus finally sat down in his arm chair.

For quite a while, both parties sat content. The adults were in the sitting room talking about the ministry. The boys were in the games room, playing chess, which Harry was failing miserably at.

Forty-five minutes later, and three chess games (Harry won only the last one, when Draco took some pity on the boy), the adults came into the room. Harry and Draco looked up from their game, missing one of pieces shatter a pawn.

Narcissa walked over to Draco and kissed him on the forehead, "I have a meeting to attend to, and must be off. I will see you tonight in time to tuck you in, though." Draco blushed, "Good bye Harry, and good night Severus." Narcissa departed, with ruffle of Draco's hair, to the floo, being fully encased with high green flames before the fire died down.

Severus turned to the boys after watching the flames die down to a calm fire. "Lucius and I will be in my study. Do, refrain from interrupting us, as we have important things to talk about," he said in a no nonsense voice and a glare.

"And don't do anything stupid," Lucius said with a chuckle and turned to walk into the study. Severus gave the boys one last pointed look before turning on his heels to follow Lucius.

"Come on," Draco whispered to Harry as he crept towards the closed study door.

"But-" Harry started, but was interrupted by Draco shushing him. He shrugged and crouched down next to Draco, both pressing their ears against the door. They couldn't hear anything through the door, and they leaned a bit more on the door, in a vain attempt to hear better. Suddenly, the door opened, and both boys crashed to the ground, barely able to catch themselves before they hit their heads on the floor.

When they looked up, they found Severus with an eyebrow raised. "I, we, uh, you see," Harry stuttered as he and Draco picked themselves off the ground to stand in front of Severus.

Severus put his hand up to stop Harry, " . .me. I know perfectly well what you two eavesdroppers were doing. Go back to your game and do not bother us. We will not be too long."

Both boys nodded and went back to sit on the couch. Severus gave one last glare and went back into the study, re-warding it with a silencing charm.

For close to an entire hour, the adults sat comfortably in the study, discussing things that were left for outsiders to only wonder. At the same time, the two boys went up to Harry's room to talk, in privacy, too. There discussion started out talking about school and Draco explaining a bit more about Wizardry to Harry. Close to the ending of the hour, however, the boys ventured downstairs, to just take a peek at the potions lab. Carefully, they made their way out of the room and into the hall. Harry stopped Draco just before he was about to step down on to the squeaky board outside the room. Both boys gave a sigh of relief, they made it past their first obstacle, going quietly down the stairs.

The door at the very bottom of the stairs, looked a bit like a coat closet. It was a light brown, wooden door with just a nob. Harry had one thought flash through his mind, but only for a second, "If it's so dangerous, why isn't there a lock?"

Harry looked around the corner of the living room and saw that the study door was still shut firmly. Harry came back and gave Draco thumbs up, signaling the blonde boy to gently open the door.

The stairs to the basement was pitch black for a while, the torches on the wall flared to life. The stair well was still dark, but lit enough to see the stairs and railing on the wall. Carefully, the pair made their way to the first landing, shutting the door quietly behind them. From here they could see the room at the bottom of the final flight of stairs. Lining most of the walls were shelves of vials. Most shelves were labeled, but from where the boys were in the dim lighting, neither could read them. In the center of the room, there were three two cauldrons on separate tables. One was boiling steadily, and was of a pinkish- purple colour. The other, the boys had to go down a few more stairs to see. This one was bubbling gently, and was light blue, like the sky on warm summer days.

Harry spotted another cauldron in the far corner of the room. There was a fire lit under the smaller black pot, but neither boy could see into it. Harry nudged Draco to go down the stairs and to see what was in it, when he saw Draco looking up the stairs at something. There was a bit more light than before shining down on the dark stair wells and Harry turned around. At the top of the stairs, both standing clad in their black clothing, stood stern looking Lucius Malfoy and Severus Snape.

Harry swallowed hard and Severus said two words that sent both boys scurrying into the kitchen, sitting at the table, looking rather pale. Those two words were, " Kitchen. Now."

Harry looked at his hands resting in his lap, and thought back angrily how he was persuaded to go down to the potions lab. Then again, it was kind of fun, like a forbidden adventure. Everyone knew forbidden things were the best, but were they really?

* * *

A/N- Yeah I know, not that great, and sorry it took me so long to update. I had quite a few things going on that welcomed me into the summer, which kept me quite a busy person. I was going to add the talk between Draco and Harry in this chapter, but this chapter started to frustrate me, and I would rather just start over, with a new chapter. Oh yeah, and this is had no beta, I just wanted to get it up and out... sorry :P

Next to come: Draco and Harry's talk upstairs that led them to the potions and lab, and the consequences.


	5. ChitChat Boredom

This chapter is the flashback of the conversations between Harry/Draco and Severus/Lucius. It starts after the boys are caught listening through the door, and will end when they are caught in the potions lab.

* * *

"Stupid silencing charms," Draco muttered after the doors to the study were firmly closed and warded.

Harry would have laughed at Draco's scowls, but he wanted to stay friends with the blonde hairs boy. He thought about it a bit more, and saw that Draco would still be his friend. _'I mean really, if he didn't, why'd he come back to visit me?' _Either way, the moment of laughter passed- unless of course you wanted to sound insane.

"Wanna play chess?" Harry asked, gesturing towards the partially set up board.

Draco waited, seemingly weighing his options. "Nah, let's go upstairs and talk. That way we can be all private and sneaky like them," the blonde said shaking his head and gesturing to the study door.

* * *

Inside the study, through the sturdy doors, two adults laughed. They had momentarily stopped their conversation to hear what the boys would be doing without them. Severus tended to the fire and added another log. Lucius schooled his expression once they heard the boys run up the stairs.

Lucius Malfoy was not a stuck up, muggle hating, dark arts following, wizard. He was actually a rather fun man, who loved his family and had no problems with different cultures such as muggles. In fact, the only reason that he bears the dark mark on his arm was because of his father, and him being a stupid 17 year old. Contrary to popular belief, he was a spy for the light, which is what Severus also does, in a way.

Lucius absently rubbed his tattoo that had a dull sting to it. "He has returned Severus, this morning when I went to Diagon Alley to pick up Draco's school robes it started to burn. I took a pain potion when it started, so it's alright for now. Although, it's not as strong as it used to be, the burn. I don't think he is fully alive yet. The pain use to be unbearable, but this time it was like being pinched all over the tattoo."

Severus nodded his head, his face showed no emotion, but his eyes shown with concern and sadness.

* * *

"Hmph, that's how you end our scene? My eyes show concern, then you go back to the boys?" Severus snarled as we began to leave the room to write about the boys.

"Precisely."

Lucius smiles and tried to smother his laughter by pressing his lips tightly together. Severus rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"If you don't like talking to me, then why do you write these down?"

"Entertainment. Though, you could wait until the end of the chapter to share your rude thoughts."

"Now where's the fun in that?" Lucius nodded his head in agreement with Severus.

I quickly snatched my wand out of its holster hidden in my belt loops when Severus opened his mouth to continue his talking. "Silentio."

Surprisingly, Severus lost his ability to speak. "How did you do that?" Lucius asked in awe as he as he stared at Severus, who was fumbling for his wand.

"Accio Severus' wand." The wand flew from his hand and into mine. "It's my story Lucius, anything could happen."

I walked out the door, tossing Severus' wand on the couch near Lucius. When I reached the doors of the study, I turned around and smirked.

"Finite Incantatum."

* * *

As Lucius and Severus talked about the possible return of the Dark Lord, two boys jogged up the stairs.

When they reached the Harry's room, Harry sat down on the bed. After looking around the room for a bit, Draco came over to sit next to Harry. The silence was kind of becoming awkward, so Draco said the first thing that popped in his head.

"So . . . you were raised by muggles."

Harry raised his eyebrow_. 'Muggles, what kind of name for people is that? Then again . . . hey wait, how did he know I grew up with muggles?'_

Harry sat forward slightly, "Yes, but how did you know?"

Draco gave him an incredulous look, "Who doesn't know? I mean really, the muggle world is much safer for the boy-who-lived from you-know-who."

Harry was confused. What did him living in the 'muggle word' have to do with the safety of a boy, who apparently lived (just like the rest of the human race), and some guy who apparently I'm supposed to know?

Draco saw Harry's confused look, "You're kidding right? Honestly, do you know anything about yourself?"

Harry glared at Draco, "Apparently I know as much about me as you do, but please share your knowledge."

"I don't think I'm the right person to be telling it to you, Harry. You should go ask Uncle Severus later," Draco replied, blushing a bit at his slip-up. "So, are you excited to go to Hogwarts?"

Harry held his glare on Draco for a moment longer, before letting it fade and being replaced with a smile. "I can't wait! I read 'Hogwarts: A History' already and it seems like an exciting and interesting place."

Draco was dumbfounded before he even tried to reply to Harry. The boy-who-lived sounded like a Ravenclaw. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but still.

"I'll most likely be in Slytherin, the majority of the Malfoy line has. Where do you think you'll go?"

Harry paused, wondering, "Well Dad says my father and mother were both in Gryffindor. Dad has told me quite a few times that I would be a great Slytherin, too. While on the other hand, I love to read and learn- like a Ravenclaw.

Draco broke out in a burst of laughter. "Traits from three out of four houses, huh? Wouldn't it be funny if you were placed in Hufflepuff instead?"

Harry glared, "No, it wouldn't. Hufflepuffs are overly friendly, too nice, and never to be able to win a quittage game."

If it was even possible, Draco's grin became larger. "Look at our bookworm, already memorizing Quidditch stats!" Harry shoved the blonde, who caught himself before falling back on the bed. "Never mind, you're too violent and not friendly enough to be a Hufflepuff."

He sat up, the grin still on his face. "What class do you think will be your favorite?" Harry asked Draco.

Draco didn't even stop to think about his answer before saying, "Charms. I think it'll be the most useful to know in the future. How about you?"

Harry paused, in the short amount of time that he had his textbooks; he already read the majority of all his textbooks. "Potions would have to be my top favorite and Defense against the Dark Arts."

Draco nodded, "yeah both are pretty interesting, I guess. I've learned a bit of potion making, it takes a lot of patience, precision, and a strong stomach." Harry laughed. "You know we could go to the basement and see some real potions and ingredients."

"I don't know Draco, Dad said I wasn't allowed down there without him."

Draco knew that, this wasn't the first he had stayed at his godfather's house. However, sitting in this room doing nothing was frustrating him. He needed to go out and do something, even if it was at the risk of being in trouble. The trouble factor just made it all the more interesting and exciting.

"Aww, C'mon Harry! Just for a few minutes, Uncle Severus will never know," Draco pleaded hoping to persuade Harry.

"I don't know," Harry was still skeptical about this.

"Where's your Gryffindor courage, or sense of adventure. You could even learn some stuff down there! C'mon Harry!" Draco decided to go a Slytherin route, and aimed right for Harry's pride. Even though Harry wasn't in Gryffindor, he knew his parents were, and it worked just as well.

"Fine. Alright, I'll go," Harry said, finally giving in, Draco smirked and both boys made their way out of the bedroom. Draco was about to take a step towards the stairs when Harry pulled him back.

Draco gave him an incredulous look and Harry pointed to the squeaky board Draco was about to step on. Draco nodded his thanks and both boys made their way down the stairs.

The door at the bottom of the stairs looked a bit like a coat closet. Harry had one thought flash through his mind, but only for a second. 'If it's so dangerous, why isn't there a lock?'

Harry looked around the corner of the living room and saw that the study door was still shut firmly. Harry came back and gave Draco thumbs up, signaling the blonde boy to gently open the door.

* * *

A red light flashed in the study as a silent alarm went off. Severus' face went dark.

"What's wrong?" Lucius asked, quite alarmed at the red flashing light and Severus' angry expression.

"The boys are in the potions lab. That alarm signals that the wards were broken and someone went downstairs." Severus stood up, flicking his wand, making the light stop flashing.

Sure enough when both adults went to the entrance to the potions lab, it was slightly ajar. Draco was the first to look up, staring up at them. Severus waited until Harry looked up to say anything. Sure enough, Harry turned around after telling Draco to go down further. Severus raised his eyebrow and both boys looked like deer caught in headlights.

"Kitchen. Now," Severus had bellowed, causing both boys to run up the stairs, scurry past them, and sit quietly at the kitchen table.

Severus smirked. These next few years at Hogwarts were going to be quite interesting with these two running around. Lucius seemed to have the same thoughts, for he too was silently laughing.

Severus shook his head and schooled his expression before crossing the living room. He entered the kitchen with Lucius right behind him.

Harry was playing with his hands, staring at his lap. Draco was sitting straight, staring at the window over the sink. _'Yes, it's quite obvious who came up with this plan. Too bad both of them will be paying the consequences.'_

* * *

_A/N- _Yes, I know this was a short chapter. I wanted to get this up quickly so i could start a bit more of my summer homework. HS work is insane... :) anyway the next chapter will be up asap.

Review make a writer happy, and have a better reason to write more and post faster. :D


	6. Consequences

Hey everyone, sorry it took so long to update. **WARNING!- **Two corporal punishment scenes (spanking) in this chapter. If that offends you, skip to the end or find a different story.

Hope you enjoy, i'll update much sooner next time

* * *

Severus stood across the table, letting the boys squirm under his glare. The bulletin board that held important papers hung on the wall behind them. Severus smirked and stalked over, carefully unpinning a particular sheet of paper. He held the paper noiselessly in his hand and replaced the pin in the cork. Written on the paper, in Severus' spidery writing was,

'Rules:

Respect- especially your elders

No Cursing- foul language just says that you are incapable of controlling your emotions- and mouth

No Lying- big or small, it will not be tolerated

Obedience- you will obey me, unless there is a REASONABLE explanation not to

When talked to, you will not walk off, it is rude and disrespectful

Every meal will be attended and eaten.

Do not put your life in danger- there will most always be someone there to help'

Severus had written the rules out and posted them so Harry knew exactly what to expect. Sure, he had told the boy the rules, but while he was being punished. It was just as likely that the boy would remember the rules from being told, as it was that Weasley would be blonde and Slytherin. Severus slapped the paper down between the two miscreants. Both Harry and Draco jumped an inch or two off their seats from the loud slapping sound Severus' hand made when it hit the table with the paper.

"Mr. Potter, in addition to these rules, would be so kind as to remind me of the rooms in this household that you are forbidden to enter without me?" Severus asked with a growl.

Harry peeked up at the man, who at the moment towered over him, through his fringe. He truly looked frightening from this point of view. "Your room and the potions lab," Harry practically whispered.

"Correct. Mr. Malfoy. Read- out loud- rules four and seven."

Draco usually bright blue eyes looked widely at Severus before he turned to the rules and read both rules, only tripping over a few words.

"Exactly. A potions lab is not only a forbidden area for both of you, but dangerous as well," Severus began his lecture, "There are poisonous, toxic, and volatile ingredients stored down there that could result badly if not handled properly. Furthermore, there could have been a potion brewing down there that could have exploded when you went down the stores. Potions are not always predictable. You disobeyed my order not to go down there, and risked your life by going to see something you knew nothing of! You could have been killed!"

"But we weren't," Harry said bravely. Yeah, he knew he probably shouldn't be talking back right now, but still.

"Mr. Potter, you do understand that you are in no position to be cheeky at the moment?" The audacity of the child! To talk back when he was being scolded! "Furthermore, just because you were not harmed, does not excuse the fact that you _could_ have been."

"Just saying," Harry mumbled, looking at his lap. Severus raised an eyebrow; this child was digging a deeper hole for himself.

"Lucius," Severus started to the man who had remained mostly quiet since this discussion. "Would you like to borrow my study while Harry accompanies me to his room?"

"Yes Severus, thank you. Draco. Come." Draco looked up with wide frightened eyes. He made no effort to stand while his father proceeded out of the kitchen. When Lucius reached the door, he called, "Now Draco. I will not repeat myself." Draco jumped out of his chair and followed his father grimly into the study.

The second the door was closed, Lucius locked it, warded it, and put a silencing spell up. Draco felt like he was on the brink of tears.

Lucius turned, almost mimicking Severus' dramatic twirl of the robes, to face Draco. He let the boy squirm a bit, looking paler than usual, before he went to the sofa and sat down.

"Come here Draco," Lucius said as he sat down. He looked over at Draco and saw the puppy-dog look Draco was attempting. "That look will not shorten your punishment. Come." Draco gave one last pleading look before he gave up his attempts and made his way – slowly – to his father. Slytherin instincts now kicked in, and Draco stood in front of his father with confidence. He would take his punishment quietly.

Lucius saw the change in his son and wanted to laugh. This was how most of Draco's punishments went, sad and pleading looks first, then trying to take his punishment stoically. In the end, all of his attempts were useless.

"Severus already went over what you did wrong and could have done better, so we will just skip that part. Take down your trousers and lie over my lap." Draco looked apprehensive, before undoing the button and zipper and pushed his trousers to his knees. Lucius took the boy's arm and pulled him closer, then guided him over his lap. Once there, Lucius adjusted him a bit, the said, "You will receive elven smacks for putting yourself in danger, and five for disobeying us."

Shortly after he spoke those words, he let the first smack fall. Draco, who was always surprised by the first smack, yelped. Lucius laid smacks down the bottom and thighs in front of him. By the fifth smack, Draco abandoned being quiet and started to cry. As the spanking went on, yelps were included with the crying. Lucius was starting to be affected by his only son's cries, and tried to finish up quickly. When it came to the last four, he put more effort into his swings, letting these last few smacks fall on his sit spots.

When it was over, Lucius pulled Draco up and settled his son in his lap. Draco continued to cry, as Lucius held him close and rubbed circles on his back.

"Come now, Dragon, it's over." Lucius continued to quietly comfort his son until Draco's cries turned to hiccups. Draco snuggled against his father's chest. It was rare that he was able to do this. In public, Draco was forbidden to display affection, and his father never had much time to be with him between the ministry and death eater spying.

Lucius petted Draco's hair, savoring the moment. He felt bad not having much time for Draco. No matter what the public thought or said, he loved Draco more than anything in the world. Then again, the public was wrong about many things. Both sat there, together, waiting for Harry and Severus to come downstairs for dinner.

* * *

Meanwhile-

Harry watched sadly as Draco was escorted to the study and locked in. He turned his attention to Severus, before dropping his gaze back to his lap.

"Come Harry." Severus turned to the sitting room, and Harry followed a few paces behind. Severus stopped at the bottom of the stairs and let the boy go first, just to make sure he wouldn't run. Harry passed him and slowly made his way up the stairs.

Walking slowly up the stairs annoyed Severus, who gave Harry a warning swat. Harry seemed to have received the message and quickly made his way up the stairs and into his room. Severus was close behind in entering the bedroom. He shut the door and put up a silencing charm on the room.

Harry stood by his bed, unsure of what Severus wanted him to do. The older wizard noticed, and sat down on the bed, pulling Harry to stand in front of him.

"You know what's going to happen now, correct?" Severus asked gently. When the boy nodded, he spotted tears in glistening in the boy's eyes. "I'm not doing this to harm you, Harry." Harry nodded again, but Severus could tell that the boy did not believe him yet.

"Alright," Severus reached towards the button on Harry's trousers. He stepped back and Severus caught his arm. "They will come down one way or the other."

Harry hesitated for a few moments before he stepped forward. Severus nodded, understanding and took down the boy's trousers. He then guided the boy over his lap. Harry squirmed a little, and Severus waited until he settled down to start.

"Eleven smacks for each rule broken. What's the first rule you broke?"

"I went into the potions cellar without permission."

"Correct *Smack*," Severus began his lecture. "A potions *Smack* lab is not *Smack* a safe place to be. There *Smack* could have been a dangerous *Smack* potion brewing. There are also *Smack* ingredients *Smack* that could have *Smack* been deadly *Smack* if not handled *Smack* properly. *Smack*." Severus stopped, and noticed Harry wasn't making any noise. In the fact, the boy was unusually quiet and limp. Severus shook it off, for the time being at least.

"One broken rule down, one to go. What was the second rule you broke?"

Severus heard a sniffle before Harry spoke. "W-we put our lives in danger." Severus nodded, not that Harry could see, and smacking anew.

"That *Smack* is also correct *Smack*, young man *Smack*. I already *Smack* told you about *Smack* the dangers *Smack* of the potions *Smack* lab. There was no *Smack* reason for you *Smack* to go *Smack* down there. *Smack*." With that final 'smack', Severus picked the silent boy off his lap and settled him in his lap. Harry's brilliant green eyes were brimming with unshed tears. "After all, too many people would miss you if something happened."

Harry's glistening eyes looked up at Severus as he squirmed in the man's lap. "Even you, sir?" He practically whispered to Severus.

Severus hesitated for a moment; there was something about this boy. Not just being Lily's child, the love of his life. There was something in his heart that told him that there was more than just that. "Even me," was his reply, releasing the dam of tears.

As tears dripped down Harry's cheeks, Severus held the boy closer. There was something about Harry Potter that was special to him. It was like an idea you had one minute, but out of your head the next. Severus knew in his heart that there was something, but his mind said differently.

Both boys sat there, like that, for a few more minutes, before Severus realized the time. He pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to the small boy. "Here, use this, then go wash up. It's nearly time for dinner."

Harry gave a small nod as he took the cloth, and wiped his face, then blew his nose. He clutched the cloth as Severus helped the boy up. It was then that Harry noticed that his shorts were at his ankles and his trousers on the floor beside the bed. He turned bright red and quickly pulled his shorts up, deciding that was the wrong thing to do. He hissed slightly, then ran (somewhat stiffly) to the bathroom across the hall.

When Harry returned, Severus handed him his trousers. The boy looked much better that he did five minutes ago. Severus nodded and nudged the boy out. Both went down the stairs, and Harry was sent to the dinner table. The wooden chairs looked rather hard, but when Severus raised his eyebrow, Harry lowered himself into the seat.

Severus left Harry in the dining room to go fetch the Malfoys. He knocked twice on the study door before opening it slightly. He saw Draco curled up in his father's lap, but looked rather embarrassed when his Godfather opened the door. Lucius helped the squirming boy to his feet and adjusted his clothes. Severus nodded and went back to the dining room, taking his place at the head of the table. Harry was beside him and before long, both Malfoys joined them. Draco sat next to Harry and Lucius sat at the other side of Severus.

Both boys squirmed as dinner was served by a house elf, then all through dinner. Soon, both punishments were forgotten (somewhat) and the sound of laughter filled the room. The Malfoys and Snape were not what the rest of the world made them out to be.

Harry smiled, but stayed out of the main conversation. He mostly spoke only when spoken to, but added a bit more when Severus started to give him questioning looks. Harry sat back, after the main course disappeared and dessert replaced it. Harry took a few pieces of fruit, avoiding the small, sweet cake that most were helping themselves to.

If this was what his new life was going to be like, then he would really like it here. After all, ANYONE was better than the Dursleys, but there was something about Severus Snape he couldn't quite place. There was a feeling of familiarity about him, but Harry didn't quite know where it came from.

He shrugged and tuned back into the conversation, letting his evening finish peacefully.

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Reviews would be fantastic... :) Oh yeah, and what house would you like to see Harry in? A brave, yet impulsive Gryffindor? A cunning, intelligent Slytherin? A Brilliant, and protected Ravenclaw? Or Hufflepuff... please don't choose Hufflepuff... Any of these houses would work for the plot. They would just make different stories. Okay thanks!


	7. Hogwarts and Sortings

The rest of the summer with Severus passed with a blur. Draco, Lucius, and Narcissa had visited a few more times, each time the boys grew closer. Draco was Harry's first friend. Sure, Draco had had friends in the past, but never one like Harry.

Today was September 1st, the first day of their new school, Hogwarts. Severus had Harry pack his new trunk, which has his initials engraved in Silver, then both apparated to the train station. Kings Cross Station was full of people, muggles as Severus said. Harry pushed his cart along, which held only his trunk. Severus had sent his owl, Hedwig, to Hogwarts ahead of them.

As the two wizards approached a wall between platforms 9 and 10, a large mob of red-heads came up beside them.

"Hello Molly," Severus said.

"Oh! Severus! Good to see you, what brings you to Kings Cross?" the chubby red head lady asked. She looked next to Severus to see a cart and a boy with a messy black mop of hair. "Heavens! Is this young Harry Potter?"

Severus gave a small nod, "Yes, Mr. Potter has been staying with me for the past month. I was just escorting him to the Hogwarts Express."

"Blimey-"

"-This is Harry Potter?" said a pair of what seemed to be twins, both pushing their own carts.

"Yes, I'm Harry," Harry said, holding out his hand. Each boy shook his hand,

"I'm Fred-"

"-and I'm George."

Harry nodded, and two other boys walked up. One looked older and the other seemed to be Harry's age.

"Hello, I'm Percy. I'm the Prefect for Gryffindor." Harry shook his hand and nodded, he had absolutely no idea what a 'prefect' was.

The other boy held out his hand, "I'm Ron, this is my first year at Hogwarts."

Harry smiled, "Mine too."

The woman smiled, "I'm Mrs. Weasley," she pulled a young girl out from behind her, "and this is Ginny."

Harry smiled and the older of the Weasleys took off towards the wall, disappearing. Harry looked up at Severus, bewildered. Severus just gave a short chuckle and explained that that was how you got onto the platform.

Ron went first, with Ginny and Mrs. Weasley behind him. Then Severus and Harry ran through the wall together.

A puff of smoke blocked Harry's vision for a second, before he saw a large crowd of people. Severus helped Harry put his trunk on the train and followed him into an empty compartment.

"Now, behave on the train ride, I'll see you at Hogwarts."

"I will." Harry smiled up at Severus, and he ruffled Harry's hair a bit. Word had escaped quickly about Harry Potter being placed under Severus' guardianship. Quite a few had been outraged, but Severus just burnt the letters.

Severus left the compartment and Harry looked out the window. Most of the children already boarded the train, and the parents were waving goodbye.

Harry heard the door slide open and was pleased to see Draco walk in.

"Hey Drake."

"Hey Harry. Can I sit here? Everywhere else is full."

"Too full for the great Draco Malfoy?" Harry joked.

Draco glared at his joke, "Haha." He sat down across Harry and both stared out the window, waving to the people they were passing by.

Harry sat back and Draco started talking about his excitement for Hogwarts. Harry only half listened, he'd been hearing the same speech for the past two weeks.

Draco's last sentence was cut off by the door sliding open again. Both looked up and saw three people standing there.

The first was a girl with bushy brown hair, already in her Hogwarts robes.

"Hi, can we sit here? Everywhere is full, or full of stuck up people."

Harry laughed, "Yeah sure, it's just us here."

The girl smiled gratefully and she and her two friends entered the compartment. "I'm Hermione Granger," she gestured to the boy that followed her in, "this is Neville Longbottom and this is Luna Lovegood."

"I'm Harry Potter and this is Draco Malfoy." Harry looked over at the other children. Neville was kind of plump and Luna had an aura of strangeness around her, but was beautiful all the same. The three new people looked stunned when Harry introduced himself. Draco shot them all a look and shook his head when Harry was turned away from him. The other kids seemed to understand, and said nothing.

Now that all the introductions were over, the three new comers joined in their conversation about their excitement for Hogwarts. Each shared what they hoped their houses would be and the class they looked forward to the most.

Before long the train came to a stop and all the students flooded out of the train. The small group stayed together as they made their way over to a huge man.

"Firs' years, o'er 'ere!" The man held a lantern that dimly lit the darkness around them. A small group of children surrounded him and he led them down to the boats. Luna and Hermione shared a boat, and the three boys shared one.

The ride to Hogwarts was exciting yet scary. The black water under them sloshed against the sides, and none of the students really wanted to know what animals were in there. Yet, the peaceful ride showed them all the sights. Hogwarts glowed in the darkness. The castle was large and an amazing sight for all to see. As they neared the castle, the boats ran ashore and the children climbed out onto the shore.

Hagrid led them further up a hill, where they were greeted by tall doors that opened to allow them in. They were welcomed to a room with another pair of large doors in front of them. The small group stayed closely together as they walked up a stair case and was greeted by a stern looking witch.

She had a bun atop her head, and glasses perched on her nose. "In a few moments, I will open the doors and you shall proceed in to be sorted. There are four houses, Hufflepuff, Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Now wait here, until the doors allow you in."

A few children nodded and she slipped through the doors. None of the children had a chance to peek in as she was quick in going through the door.

"Hey Potter, What are you doing with a Malfoy?" A red headed boy said, sneering the name Malfoy. Harry turned and saw that it was the boy, Ron whom he met earlier. There were two boys beside him, nodding along with Ron's accusation. "Choosing the wrong sort of friends before school even started, eh?"

Harry looked at the boy, "Nope, from what I see, I chose the perfect type of friends." Harry gestured to the four people standing next to him.

Ron was cut off from retorting back, the doors in front of them flew open and the children proceeded in.

The Great Hall was enormous, and there were four tables crowded with children. The ceiling looked like the sky outside, with twinkling stars. Candles floated a few feet above their head.

"The ceiling's charmed to look like sky outside. I read about it in 'Hogwarts: A History.'" Hermione said proudly to them. Harry smiled at his intelligent friend as they gathered in front of the school.

A few steps up was a stool and the teacher they saw earlier. Past that was a long table with all the teachers sitting, smiling at the first years. Well, all of them except Snape. Harry smiled at him, then turned his attention to the teacher.

"I am Professor McGonagall. When I call your name, you will step up and sit on the stool. I will place the sorting hat on your head and you will be sorted into your houses."

"Abbot, Hannah."

"Hufflepuff!"

"Bones, Susan."

"Hufflepuff!"

"Boot, Terry"

"Ravenclaw!"

"Brown, Lavender"

"Gryffindor!"

"Finnigan, Seamus" Harry realized that this was one of Ron's sidekicks.

"Gryffindor!"

"Granger, Hermione" Hermione took a calming breath and the four others encouraged her up.

"Ravenclaw!" She smiled and happily made her way down to the Ravenclaw table

"Longbottom, Neville"

"Hufflepuff!" Neville ran down to his table, forgetting to give the hat back. He walked back and handed it over sheepishly.

"Lovegood, Luna"

"Ravenclaw!"

"Malfoy, Draco"

"Slytherin!" Draco was relieved and made his way to the table.

"Nott, Theodore"

"Hufflepuff!"

"Parkinson, Pansy"

"Slytherin!"

"Potter, Harry" There were quite a few gasps from the students at the tables. The gasps were followed by whispers about the famous Harry Potter being at Hogwarts. Harry made his way up to the stool and put the hat on.

"Mr. Potter." Harry heard a voice in his head. "Hmm, let's see, plenty of courage, cunning and secretive, and a thirst for knowledge. But where to put you?"

"Not Gryffindor. Not Gryffindor."

"Not Gryffindor eh? Alright, better be, SLYTHERIN!"

The room was deadly quiet. Harry Potter was sorted into Slytherin. McGonagall nudged Harry and he made his way to the Slytherin table, well aware of the stares. He ignored them and sat next to Draco before turning his attention to the rest of the sorting.

"Thomas, Dean" This was another confirmed sidekick of Ron.

"Gryffindor!"

"Weasley, Ronald"

"Gryffindor!"

With that, the sorting ceremony ended. The man in the center of head table stood. "Good Evening, as most of you know, I am the headmaster, Professor Dumbledore. Welcome to another wonderful year of Hogwarts. Mr. Filch, our school caretaker, has asked me to remind you the Forbidden Forest is off limit. In addition, the third floor corridor is off limits to anyone who does not wish to die a most painful death."

The students gave him wide eyed looks, and he continued, "With that, let the feast begin!" He waved his hands and food appeared on all the tables. Harry took a little bit of everything and ate slowly. He had been eating three meals a day for an entire month, but he was still cautious when eating.

Soon the main course disappeared and dessert replaced it. Harry took some fruit salad and began eating, listening to the chatter of the students around him. He was occasionally asked a question, but otherwise avoided to participate in the conversation.

The feast ended and Prefects held the first years back as the older students flooded out. As soon as the older students left, the Prefects made their way – quite quickly – to their common rooms. The group of Slytherins were led down the dungeons and to a portrait.

"Silver scales," the Prefect announced, and the portrait of the snake swung open. They entered into a cozy room.

There was a fireplace to the right. All around the room were tables with circles of comfy looking chairs. Professor Snape walked in through a door on the side, "Gather around here, first years." He stood in front of the fireplace and the new Slytherins gathered in front of him.

"Welcome to Slytherin House. I am your head of house and Potions Master, Professor Snape. Before you join the other students tomorrow, you should know that our house is prejudiced against. Most of the other house's students believe that this is the house of evil. It is NOT. Because of this, you are to present yourselves as a united front to the rest of the school. I do not care about silly rivalry within this house, however it will not leave this common room.

"Now, the list of rules for this house are posted in your dorm rooms, so you do not forget them. I suggest you read them. I will not hesitate to give you detentions if you break a rule. Now, up the stairs to the right are the girl's dorm, to the left are the boy's. Your things are already up there. Shoo." Severus shooed then upstairs.

Severus turned when the last of the students disappeared up the stairs and left for his private quarters.

Upstairs, the girls had settled in quickly and were preparing for bed. While the boys were still up talking. Draco and Harry had settled in quickly, and were sitting on their beds chatting away. Neither boy had paid too much attention and only caught about half of the sortings. There were a few more Slytherins, two girls (Pansy Parkinson and Padma Patil) and four boys (Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle, who were in the room next door.)

Harry smiled as the other boy became drowsier as time went on. Within a few more minutes Draco was fast asleep

Harry looked around at the room and the green curtains pulled back at the four posters on his bed. He laid back and closed his head. Soon, he too, was asleep.

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A/N—Now, I messed with some of the characters. Along with those Slytherins, Gryffindor has five people (Brown, Finnigan, Thomas, Weasley, and the other Patil twin), Hufflepuff has five people (Abbot, Bones, Longbottom, Finch-Fletchlet, and Nott), and Ravenclaw also has five (Boot, Granger, Lovegood, Chang, and Zabini.) Yeah, not all of those people are going to play a part in the story at all.. but I thought it would be nice to at least include that some houses had more than two or three people.

One more thing, Harry doesn't know anything about being the boy-who-lived… yet. He will soon. Draco stopped the other students from revealing anything to Harry earlier. Severus told him not to. Eh.. please don't ask anything about that yet.. it'll be answered in like the next two chapters…


	8. First Day Morning

Okay so I became tired of writing this part, so the next part will be in chapter 9. I hope you guys enjoy and sormessed I messed up names or anything.

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Harry woke up the next morning feeling quite comfortable. Draco was still sound asleep in the bed next to him, snoring quietly. A few stray beams of light made their way through the mostly closed curtains. The light shone on the floor at the end of his bed.

Harry at up and stretched his arms over his head. Today was the first day of classes. He threw off his blankets and made his way to Draco's bed.

"Come on Draco, rise and shine!" No response. "Come on Drake!" Harry persisted, this time shaking the blonde's shoulder. No response.

Harry shrugged and made his way to the bathroom. Sometimes when Draco came over, would have to resort to this. Not that he liked to do it, it always put Draco in a bad mood for an hour or so.

Harry picked up a paper cup by the sink and ran the water until it was icy cold. He set that one down and filled a second one with icy water.

Yet again, Harry went to Draco's bed and tried to call the blonde. Still no response. Oh well. Harry held both cups of icy water above Draco's head then dumped them at the same time. He stepped back as the blonde sky rocketed out of bed, and yelped.

"What the hell Harry!?"

"You weren't waking up, and I know you like to take an insane amount of time to get ready. There really wasn't any other choice."

Draco glared and Harry tossed the cups in the rubbish bin. Both boys made their way to the bathroom and showered in their separate stalls. Harry wrapped in a towel and got out of the shower first. He quickly troweled off and dressed. He threw the towel over his head and brushed his teeth.

He was just finishing rinsing when Draco finally came out and disappeared behind a divider to put on his clothes. When he came out, he was dressed and had a towel around his neck. He too, brushes his teeth and Harry ruffled the towel on his hair hoping to dry it.

Draco laughed when Harry took the towel off his head. His hair was stuck up even more than usual. Worse, his hair wasn't fully dry.

Draco pressed the towel against his head, making his hair stop dripping. Then he took out his wand and cast a drying charm. Harry glared, and Draco cast the spell on him too.

Harry went back to the room and made sure he had his textbooks, notebooks, quills, and ink. When Draco finally emerged from the bathroom after finishing fixing his hair, he too checked his bag. Once both deemed themselves ready, they put on their robes and grabbed their bags.

On their way out Draco had a last minute thought and turned around quickly. Harry walked into the blonde and was about to say something when Draco flicked his wand to make the beds.

"Oh, thanks. That wouldn't have been good if we forgot, considering," Harry looked at the list of rules on the wall, "that keeping our rooms clean and tidy is rule three."

Draco nodded and the boys made their way down to the common room. There were a few students crowded around Snape, who soon left. Both boys walked up and were handed their schedules.

As they thanked him and left the common room to go to breakfast, Harry looked at his schedule.

1st year Slytherin:

Days- Monday/Wednesday/Friday

Breakfast

Transfiguration: 9:00-9:45

History of Magic: 9:50-10:35

Potions: 10:40-11:25

Charms: 11:30-12:15

Lunch

Herbology: 1:15-2:00

DADA: 2:05- 2:50

Dinner: 6:00

Curfew: 9:00

Days- Tuesday/Thursday

Breakfast

Charms: 9:00-10:30

Herbology: 10: 35-12:05

Lunch

Transfiguration: 1:10-2:40

Potions: 2:45-4:15

Dinner: 6:00

Astronomy: 9:30-12:00

Curfew: 12:30

Harry sighed, today was Monday. They finally arrived at the great hall and looked around the room. Neville was sitting with Hermione and Luna at the Ravenclaw table, so Harry steered that direction. Draco gave him a questioning look until he followed Harry's gaze and realized it was the Ravenclaw table.

Draco looked between the Ravenclaws and Slytherins and gave in. He followed Harry to the Ravenclaws and sat down. In their first class today, they were all together, well excluding Neville.

Slytherins were with Ravenclaws in transfiguration, and charms. They were with Hufflepuff in herbology, astronomy, and history of magic. Lastly they shared potions and DADA with the dreaded Gryffindors.

Harry smiled at his friends and sat down beside Neville, "Morning." Draco sat down beside him and grumbled his hello. He watched at Draco took toast, smeared it with jam, and took some eggs. Harry shrugged and took some fruit and oatmeal. He nudged to Draco, "Sorry, he's not much of a morning person." The girls giggled, and Neville continued eating his bacon.

Fifteen minutes later, Harry drank the last of his milk. Hermione started to usher them out of the hall with the proclamation that they would be late for Transfiguration. Out of the Great Hall, the four bid goodbye to Neville and continued to their first class.

The transfiguration classroom looked quite ordinary in the old castle. There were tables to fit two students each, with three row from the front to back of the room. Harry and Draco took one table on the far right of the room. Luna and Hermione took their seats right behind them. Harry pulled out his textbook and notebook. He had to dig through his bag a bit before he found some ink and a quill, though.

A few moments later, the entire class was sitting down, taking out their things. The strict looking professor that conducted the sorting was walking to the front of the room. 'McGonagall, right?' Harry thought. The teacher, just like last night, had a tight bun pinned up and glasses perched on her nose.

"Good morning students. As I mentioned last evening, I am Professor McGonagall. Welcome to your first Transfiguration class. Transfiguration is the art of changing an object's form and appearance. However," She paused and swept her eyes across the room. "The magic you will learn in this class is complex and dangerous. Anyone, who I found to be playing around here, will be asked to leave."

She turned, and faced the board. With a flick of her wand, a piece of chalk began to write. Harry and Draco dipped their quills in their ink and began writing. Today's lesson was just an introduction to the concept of transfiguration. All in all, Draco thought it was a boring first class. Of course, besides today's lesson of things he already knew, Draco was in a room half filled with overly-studious Ravenclaws… and Harry. Most of the other Slytherins were looking as bored as Draco was, and quickly made their way out of the room when the bell rang.

"Transfiguration sounds fascinating, doesn't it? I mean, being able to turn an object into something else sounds very useful." Draco raised his eyebrow and tuned Hermione out. "Oh well, we better get going to Herbology!"

"Yes, Good Luck in History of Magic," Luna said as Hermione eagerly pulled her to the greenhouses. Harry waved and he and Draco walked the opposite way, towards their next class.

History of Magic was set up with round tables that seat two or three students at once. Harry, Draco and Neville chose a table towards the back. The ghost in the front introduced himself as Professor Binns, and that he had been teaching here for … let's just say, forever. Next he explained what they would mainly be studying in their first year in his class.

Without Harry realizing it, the lesson started. They were talking about Goblin wars of 653. All three boys took notes for a while, when Neville started to drift asleep. Harry nudged him, and he sat up, confused. He looked around then put his head back down.

Draco stopped taking notes ten minutes into the class, switching to doodling on the side of notes. Harry lasted the longest, taking notes for a full 25 minutes. Binns was not the 'stop and take questions' teacher. Some students didn't even think he stopped until the bell rang. His lesson just droned on, in one long lecture.

Harry looked around at the other first years in his class- Hufflepuff and Slytherin. Quite a few of the Hufflepuffs were using this time to nap, while the Slytherins just chose to draw on their notes. When the bell rang, most students who fell asleep, sat up startled from the loud noise. When they noticed other students leaving, they nudged the others who were still sleeping and left the class room.

Draco groaned as they neared the dungeons for their potions class. This was a class they had with Gryffindors. Draco and Harry had stopped in their dorm to switch their books for charms and potions classes. As they neared the classroom, Ron Weasley and his followers, approached from the opposite direction.

All five reached the door at the same time. "Well, well. Malfoy and Potter. Now that you're a slimy snake, Potter, I'm taking back my offer for you to be my friend. I mean really, if you were placed where you should have been, Gryffindor, it would be a different story, wouldn't."

Harry scoffed, "Sorry Weasley, but never even considered your offer the first time." Harry pushed through the crowd with Draco behind him and sat at a desk. Ron stood in the doorway, surprised that someone didn't even consider his friendship. That is, until, he was shoved in by Professor Snape.

Severus strode to the front of the room, and turned on his heel to face the class. He folded his hands and scanned the class. Every eye in the classroom was on him.

"There will be no foolish wand-waving or silly incantations in this class. You are here to learn the art of potion making. There will be difficulties, as not many possess the talent or patience to brew. However, you will not be wasting this time by NOT PAYING ATTENTION! Weasley!"

Ronald sat up, he was deep in thought about how to find revenge on Harry Potter, when he heard his name called. I mean really, he was really confused. Dumbledore told him to make friends with Potter, to persuade him to the 'Gryffindor' side of himself. Yeah, his first try didn't work well. "Hmm maybe after my revenge – which I should probably blame on one of those slimy snakes – I should take pity on him and he'll see that Gryffindor is the way to go. Then he'll demand a re-sort! And the-"His rambling thoughts broke.

He looked up, where Snape (another slimy snake, and a git at that) was glaring at him. The man crossed his arms, making his robes sway a bit. "Tell me Mr. Weasley, perhaps you are not paying attention because you already know what I'm going to say?"

Ron narrowed his eyes; he knew that Severus would say something about his brothers. "Well, if you know than perhaps you can answer the three questions I ask every year to the first years? First: what would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of worm wood?"

Ron bit his lip, how the bloody hell should he know? Harry and Draco smirked from across the room, and Ron returned with a glare. All the other Gryffindors were looking wide eyed at Ron. All of the Snakes and a maybe two Gryffindors knew the answer. Ron shrugged, and the smarter Gryffindors shook their head.

"No? Well how about this one? Where would you look if I asked you to find a bezoar?" Ron shook his head, and Severus raised an eyebrow. "You don't know? Last try, what is the difference between Monkswood and Wolfsbane?"

Ron hesitated, he heard of Wolfsbane, somewhere. Though, he was positive it was a plant. "Wolfsbane is a plant, while Monkswood is a type of wood," Ron said trying to sound triumphant. None of his brother told him anything about potions, besides that it was a difficult class.

Draco seriously wanted to burst out laughing at Weasley's response. I mean really, he was raised in the wizard world and knew nothing about potions. That and it was in the first chapter of their textbooks. While the rest of the Slytherins smothered their giggles, Brown, Thomas, and Patil looked like they wanted to bang their heads on the table.

Parvati Patil and her twin may not have been sorted into Ravenclaw, but they were both impressively smart. Brown was a sort of shy girl, and average smart. However, she did know two out of the three answers, sort of. Finally Thomas, Dean was best friends with Seamus, and fit in with the Gryffindors. Though, he was a hard worker and kept up with his school work. He wanted to have a bright future, that and his mum would kill him if he had anything lower than a 'B'.

Seamus and Ron looked at each other, Seamus shot him a sympathetic look. As his students reacted to the answer, Severus shook his head. The boy had used reasoning that since the word 'wood' was in the name, it was wood. Although guessing really wasn't a good idea in his class, Severus had to agree that the boy used as much Gryffindor reasoning that he possessed.

"No Mr. Weasley. That is incorrect, but thank you for at least thinking about your answer." He gave the rest of the class a look.

"Aw come on, how should we know that?" Ron shouted in outrage.

Severus tilted his head and flicked hair out of his face. "Mr. Potter, what would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of worm wood?"

"The Draught of the living dead, a powerful sleeping potion," Harry said with confidence.

"Correct."

"Of course he would know. He's in Slytherin." Ron said again in protest.

"Ms. Patil, where would you look if I asked you to find a bezoar?"

Parvati sighed, Ron was incredibly stupid. "In the stomach of a goat, sir."

"And what is the use of a bezoar?"

"It is a cure for most potions."

"Correct. Still not convinced Mr. Weasley? Mr. Thomas, what is the difference between Monkswood and Wolfsbane?"

Dean bit his lip, he knew the answer, but Ron was glaring at him. "I don-" he considered it again. He honestly didn't want to look as stupid as him in front of everyone. "There is no difference sir, they are the same thing."

"Precisely, now tell me, Mr. Thomas, what is another name for those herbs?" A look at Ron was given along with an emphasis on herb.

Dean sighed again, now he wished he was put in Ravenclaw. "Acanite, sir."

"Correct. At least a few Gryffindors read the first few pages of their books."

The three smarter of the Gryffindors looked away from the glares of Ron and Seamus. Ron decided he needed a new friend. He liked having three of them, but he didn't want a know-it-all. Harry Potter would be Dean's replacement.

The rest of the class took place in silence. There were no groans or laughs at all for the next thirty five minutes. Today, they began to learn the basics of potion making.

When the bell rang, everyone gathered their things and left. Dean, Patil, and Brown left together, followed by the mob of Slytherins. The last of the Gryffindors left and went out of the door. Ron shot Snape one last look of hatred before striding out. It was his first day and he already made a fool of himself.

Draco looked at his schedule and saw that charms was next. They left the dungeons for the charms class room. In one of the halls, the Ravenclaws joined their group. Luna and Hermione walked next to Draco and Harry at the head of the group, while the rest mingled into a group behind them.

When they arrived at the charms class, they saw that it was set up in two rows of eight. Draco, Harry, Hermione, Luna, Cho, Blaise, sat in the front row in order. The rest filled the back row, the girls on one side, and empty seat, then the boys. Professor Flitwick introduced himself.

He was quite short. In fact he introduced himself as part elf. He had glasses perched on his pointed nose and brown eyes.

"Welcome to your first charms class! I hope you all enjoy your time at Hogwarts and do your best in every class," Flitwick continued with his speech.

A full forty minutes later and Flitwick was still chatting away about the basics and uses of charms.

When the bell rang, the students rushed out, the class seemed interesting, but their first class was boring.

Harry's stomach rumbled and the group realized it was time for lunch. Both houses parted ways to exchange their books before departing for the great hall.

Harry smile to himself as he replaced his morning books with herbology and dada books. So far today was actually turning out to be interesting and fun- mostly. Harry couldn't wait until after dinner when he met up with Severus to talk about his day.

Severus had asked him to come at the end of potions class. Being practically new to the wizarding world, all these classes about magic were even more exciting. That and Severus said he had something important to tell Harry.

His stomach rumbled again and he lifted his much lighter bag onto his shoulder. Draco led the way out of the room into the common room. A few slytherins were still there and accompanied them as they made their way to the Great Hall for lunch.


	9. Evening Letters

A/N- I know I haven't updated in a while, but I lost inspiration. Leave a review or PM if you have ANY suggestions for the story. I know basically where this story is going, but I would love it if you guys added some little tid-bits to it. Thanks!

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Lunch passed pretty quickly, and it wasn't long before Slytherins and Hufflepuffs were making their way to Greenhouse 1. The glass building was located down a path from the castle. The small group of children formed several groups as they walked. The majority of the Hufflepuffs were leading, then two groups of Slytherins. Finally at the end, were Harry, Draco, and Neville.

The greenhouse was full of vibrant plants, a few of which started moving when the door let in the autumn air. Harry and Draco kept their distance from the moving plants, while Neville seemed undisturbed.

A jovial looking lady bustled to the front of the table as the students took their places on stools. "Welcome to Herbology First Years! I am Professor Sprout. This year you will be learning the basics and fundamentals of Herbology. Now can anyone tell me an importance of having at least some knowledge on this subject?"

Blank stares met her question. A few people shifted their eyes around the rest of the class. Professor Sprout sighed and was about to start explaining when she saw a hand go in the air- ever so slightly. She smiled, "Yes Mr Longbottom?" she called on Neville enthusiastically.

Neville looked around at the stares on him and took a breath, he could do this. "Herbology is quite important for subjects such as potions or medical areas. Many herbs can be very beneficial for healing, but it's best to know which ones. Otherwise you run the risk of being poisoned or killed."

Professor Sprout's smile grew even bigger. "Correct! Correct Mr Longbottom. That was a perfect answer! Five points to Hufflepuff." The excited Head of Hufflepuff was overjoyed that she had a potential Herbology apprentice. Almost every year there was at least one person who could answer the beginning Herbology questions. They were mostly Ravenclaws though, the students who_ had _to know that. It was just their nature to learn the basics of everything and progressing into a more specific area later.

With the points proclamation, the rest of the Hufflepuffs patted Neville on the back, and congratulated him. Harry and Draco smiled, but didn't say anything yet. The rest of the class passed with ease. Neville seemed to know all of this already, and was practically a second teacher today- by answering all the questions.

At dismissal, the three boys waited for the flood of students to leave before going. "That was brilliant Neville!" Harry complimented. "I knew you liked Herbology, but I didn't you knew so much!"

"Yeah, now we know where to go for homework help," Draco added. Neville blushed and thanked them before parting ways for his next class.

"Ready for Defence with the Gryffindors Drake?" Draco sighed, Defence was a good thing to know, but having it with Gryffindors, and the rumours that the teacher was a fool were dampening on his excitement.

Draco nodded, and both boys entered the Defence classroom, closely followed by the rest of the Slytherins and Gryffindors. They sat down in the back of the room, which was laid out much like the charms class, and watched the professor in the front. He looked as if he was shaking, and he kept wringing his hands together.

"W-welcome t-to D-d-defence against t-the dark a-arts. I'm P-professor Quirrell." Harry wanted to bang his head on the table. This stuttering scaredy cat was supposed to be their _defence_ teacher? The man didn't even look like he could defend himself from a mouse.

Harry gave up and started to scribble in his notebook. Reading from his textbook would teach him more than this stuttering fool. Harry looked up when the stuttering voice stopped talking. Quirrell was turning towards his desk.

Harry bit his lip and put his hand to his scar when the man had his back turned. This entire class, his scar had been prickling, but now, it full out burned. Draco nudged him, and Ron looked curiously from across the room. Quirrell turned back to the class, and the scar went back to prickling. Harry gave a weak smile to his friend to tell him he was okay, but both watched him for the rest of the class.

The Professor continued talking and Harry tuned him out, in favor of just thinking. Harry didn't know much about his scar. His relatives said that a piece of glassed scratched his head in the car crash that killed his parents. He never asked anymore about it. That was one of the rules of Dursleys, don't ask questions. Though, his scar never burned like this before.

Harry was shaken out of his thoughts about his scar when the bell rang. He collected his things and hurried out of the classroom. In the hall, he shoved his books in his bag and waited for Draco.

"What was that about?" Draco asked when he strolled out of the classroom.

"Eh, nothing. I just have a headache. I'm okay though, it's going away." It was mostly true. Harry did have a light headache now.

Draco and Harry turned to go towards the dungeons when Draco caught Ron's curious glance. Draco glared in return and joined Harry. The Great Hall for dinner was their next destination, once they dropped off their bookbags in the dorm.

In the Great Hall, the last of the students flooded in and sat at their chosen tables. Now, Neville, Luna, and Hermione joined them at the Slytherin table for dinner. The wonderful looking feast had just appeared when gasps began to ring out throughout the Hall.

A beautiful bird swooped into the hall. Its body was a shimmering blue, with the colour fading into purple on the wings. The beak was a brilliant orange that stood out as much as the bright yellow eyes the bird possessed.

This extraordinary creature glided down the Slytherin table and dropped a letter in front Harry Potter. It stayed on his head as the young boy picked up the letter and read the front.

It read: "Harry James Severus Potter. Age Eleven. Student of Hogwarts Academy. The Answer To All Your Questions." At the very bottom of the short paragraph was a name, written in the most elegant calligraphy Harry had ever scene. "-Lily Evans"

Harry's eyes widened and he turned to his father, who looked rather alarmed. He knew who this bird was, her name was Cloud. Her owner was Lily Evans, who found the bird injured and nursed it to health. This bird had missing ever since Lily died.

Before the potions professor could stand, the bird took to the air again. She landed directly in front of Severus, and held her leg out. Neatly tied to the leg was a crème envelope. Severus gently untied the twine, wide eyed. His letter read: "Severus Tobias Snape. Potions Professor of Hogwarts Academy. My Best Friend. The Memory Of All Your Hidden Memories. –Lily Evans"

Severus stroked the letter and gave the bird a piece of meat from his dinner. The bird 'who'd' and walked across the front of the head table, stopping in front of Albus Dumbledore. Another letter appeared out of nowhere, and the bird extended its leg to give the letter. Albus took the letter and read the front.

"Albus Dumbledore. Headmaster of Hogwarts Academy. The Bane Of My Life. The List Of Your Greatest Wrongs. –Lily Evans." Albus read the paragraph again, confused. 'The bane of my life?' Albus reached out to the owl, intending to stroke it's amazing feathers. However, his fingers never had a chance to touch the soft feathers. They were, instead, bitten rather hard by the bird. Albus creased his forehead and nursed his now bleeding finger close to him, wrapping it in a napkin.

The bird squawked and soared out of the deadly silent Great Hall. Albus quickly excused himself, and hurried to his office to read his letter.

* * *

Once inside the cosy office, with a ward to keep other out up, he opened the letter.

"_Albus Dumbledore,_

_I hope you're happy with your little plans. I found out about a few during my time here at Hogwarts. Severus Snape was my best friend, yet you made it your personal mission to separate us. You truly are just another Slytherin hating Gryffindor. I knew you had your ideas about who would have the prophesy child. I also know you pushed it to be my baby. There is one flaw in your great plan. Severus. Severus may not be Harry's father, but he was a better one than that James you pushed me towards._

_You see, James was rarely home. He never really grew up, as did Sirius Black. Remus and Severus did and I named them Harry's godfathers. His godmother, sweet Neville's mother, I also know you had plans for. Even though you did not deliberately get them put in St. Mungos, I know you wanted them out of the picture. She, and Sirius are listed as the godparents under the ministry- as James' wishes. However, I made a different set that would activate once Harry was eleven. Remus is unable to have Harry due to his condition, however Severus isn't. Severus and Molly Weasley are his godparents._

_If Severus is unable, or locked in Azkaban for his mistake, I suggest you take this to the ministry. Severus Tobias Snape was under the influence of Albus Dumbledore when he enlisted in the ranks of the Dark Lord. Any trials or allegations against him are to be removed by order of Lily Evans, Order of Merlin, First Class, Head of Charms Department of Ministry of Magic, First Class Order of the Ravens Society, Seat 34 of Wizengamot, Ravenclaw champion, and Head of the Muggle District of the Ministry of Magic. Yes, Albus, I have more power than James. My power in the wizarding World just about matches yours. Though, I kept my achievements quiet, unlike you. _

_I hope you are happy with my son being in Slytherin. I had a talk with the Sorting Hat that if it was told to put him in Gryffindor, to put him in Ravenclaw or Slytherin depending on his mind. It was actually quite funny how willing the hat was to help me. There is nothing you can do to change the future now, Albus. Don't try to interfere. And Remember, Hogwarts isn't just a building, it's alive just like you and the people around you. It has the power to remove you if it wishes. Believe me, it will not hesitate to strip you of your titles and kick you out of the castle._

_Have a Wonderful Life,_

_Lily Evans."_

Albus put the letter down, his hands shaking. He couldn't believe this mere… muggleborn could have that much authority, or knowledge! This seriously put a dent in all his plans. How on earth could he reverse any of his current problems?

He sighed and pulled out a tin of lemon drops, sucking on two at a time. He must his have his way, this must end his way to make sure everything turned out the way he wanted it to.

* * *

As Albus Dumbledore sat in his office, sulking like a child, Severus gathered his son and excused them from dinner. The rest of the school watched the pair leave before Professor McGonagall stood to tell them to eat. Before the words could leave her mouth, the dazzling bird swooped back into the room. It flew to the Slytherin table once more.

"Get out of here! Potter left!" Ron Weasley shouted from the Gryffindor table. The bird paid no attention and continued with its mission. A single rose with a small note attached to it landed in front of a few specific students. Draco, Hermione, Luna, and Neville looked at the bird, each other than down at the flower.

They all read their notes at the same time-

"_Thank you to each of you. Despite the challenges that you will face, if you stick together you will succeed. Welcome to the family. –Lily Evans"_

Once the creature was satisfied that the four had read the notes, it turned its glare on a certain redhead. Students leaned away from it as the bird swooped over to Ronald. It narrowed its eyes and bit his hand. "Ow! Bloody Bird!" Said bird pecked him on the top of his head and left notes on the Gryffindor table. Dean Thomas, George and Fred Weasley, Percy Weasley, and Katie Bell also had a rose before it turned back to Ronald. The notes to the other Gryffindors read_, "Congratulations for Gryffindor. I can't reveal too much currently, but thank you for being Harry's friends. Welcome to the family. –Lily Evans."_

Ronald Weasley, however received a black, shrivelled up rose. The original note was scribbled out, and read under it, _"You won't go very far like this Ronald. Don't end up like Dumbledore. –Lily Evans"_

Ron turned bright red and Minerva told everyone to eat dinner. All of the students who received a rose and note, looked at each other and raced out the door. They quickly decided to wait in the dungeons for Harry to come out. Each delicately carried their flowers as they quickly made their way out of the Hall. Ronald glared at his so called best friend, Dean as he left, then back at his dead flower. This really was turning out to be a bad first day.

* * *

Back in the dungeons, Severus and Harry sat comfortably by the fire reading their letters.

Severus opened his and admired the curly writing on the paper before he actually read a word.

"_Severus Tobias Snape,_

_I'm sorry I took your memories. I know you don't remember, but once we decided it was too risky with Dumbledore and Voldemort, I removed them. You know how much I love charms and potions, so I made it so you could have them back. Today is the end of Harry's first day of Hogwarts, and I know he has been staying with you. I also know that neither of you know why you like of trust each other so much. It's not really something I can explain, but I can give back to you. By touching this letter, the charm has been activated. It is the first step to regain your memories. The potion in your envelope will give them back to you fully. _

_I know you will keep Harry safe, along with his friends. Allies have reappeared now that I have sent my letters, but be careful. Not all is as appears, you know that the best. I love you will all my heart Severus._

_-Lily Evans."_

Severus reached into the envelope, and pulled out a thin vial of pink liquid. He took a deep breath and took the top off the bottle, downing it in one swallow. Memories long forgotten flashed though his mind, playing in head.

As Severus watched his missing memories, Harry was reading his letter with great interest. He couldn't believe half of the things written. To make sure, he read it once more.

"_Harry James Severus Potter,_

_Yes Harry, you have two middle names. Your father and I could not agree on a single name. Of course, you birth certificate reads Harry James Potter, though that is Dumbledore's doing. He wanted us to have nothing to do with Severus Snape. Sweet Heart, don't believe anything Albus Dumbledore has to say. For a long time he had been trying to gain control over the wizarding world in the hopes of shaping it in his views. I am almost completely positive that Albus has put spells on you to hold back part of you power. I know he did the same to me. This letter has charms in it, breaking any spells and charms Albus has put on you. He only did it because he is afraid of you. He binds the magic of those he believes are even more powerful than him. Contrary to what he says, he is most certainly not the most powerful wizard out there. I, a mere muggle born, am more powerful than him. I am actually ranked higher than him in several orders. Be careful around him._

_Onto another topic, Severus Snape. He may not be your biological father, but he is more of a father to you than James ever was. Since the time you were born, to the time I died, it was Severus who played the role of your father. James was rarely home, either at work or messing around in town with Sirius. James was still a good man, just not as good as Severus. We were only married because of Dumbledore's manipulations. If he did not become involved with our lives, you would be Severus' son, by blood, not just by memory. Remember though, blood isn't everything. In fact it has nothing to do with anything. You can't choose your family, but you can make it a bit better. Stick with Severus and your friends and you could achieve anything. _

_Be safe, with all my love,_

_Lily Evans"_

Harry rubbed his eyes. This was actually his mum, not just some cruel joke. The memories had just stopped playing in Severus' head when Harry bolted over, wrapping him in a tight hug. Severus, quite startled, held the boy until a knock on the door broke them apart.

Outside of the private rooms, the students carrying roses where becoming impatient- not to mention hungry. Fred and George decided to speed things along and knock on the door. When the door thick wooden door was pulled open cautiously, the twins started to talk.

"Oy Professor! It's just us. Miss Evans sent us all roses and notes, so we decided to come down to talk to you. But, we're all getting really hungry sitting out here in the cold Dungeon corridor, so we knocked."

Harry peeked past the twins to see Luna, Neville, Hermione, Draco, and Percy. There was a girl Harry knew as Katie Bell there too. He had heard she was on the Gryffindor quidtage team, and was dating Percy. She seemed like a nice girl, but Harry really didn't know her well. The last person, standing awkwardly off to the side was Dean Thomas. He was one of Ronald Weasley's friends.

Severus sighed at the group of students at his door and looked at the time. Dinner was just ending, which means he would have to make sure they were fed. He had absolutely no intention of showing them where the kitchen was (especially the twins), so he welcomed them inside and rounded them up around the enlarged table.

A few house elves popped in with trays of food as they all sat down, preparing to explain their individual notes.

* * *

Yay, I finally got it over with and wrote chapter nine. Since I kept you waiting for so long, I tried not to end with a cliff, and wrote just over 3,000 words. Thank you readers for your support and hate. :)


	10. Notice Er, Author's Note

Okay, I really hate it when people do this, but I decided to :\ ... Anyway, I lost my ideas on what I was going to do with this story. I know, bad excuse for not writing. My ipod spazzed, and i'm missing several notes - including the ones about my chapters. So, I'm going to browse over my story for some inspiration.

PLEASE- private message me (don't review it) if you have ideas, or just something you want to see in the story. I know where I want to basically head my story, but I'm not entirely sure how to get there.

When I post my next chapter, I will be deleting this so it doesn't annoy everyone :)

Thanks... and sorry. I'll start writing tomarrow when I get home from school o.o


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